This has to be the only time in my history in which every drawer, cabinet and closet is clean—meaning in order. In fact, our whole house has received a “going through” as my mother would say. Even the door to the pantry can now be left open without shame or blame. Not a weed grows in our yard and the plants are each trimmed and fertilized. The garage is next. For sure, the “at home lock down” order has left us with something for which to be thankful. To some degree, we have reached “spic and span.”

Speaking of this, my memory flashed back a few decades to another time of deciding to clean all the drawers in the house. Our three sons were young, having growth spurts and Gary and I were . . . let’s just say “not quite prepared” for finding scanty-clad girlie pictures in our 11-year-old’s bottom drawer. Putting our heads together, we decided to pin those pictures on all four walls of the kid’s bedroom.

He came home from school, went to his room—and did not come out for a very, very long time. We sat at the dinner table calling for him to come join us. Finally, he did. His face was solemn and white as a sheet. He looked—well—a bit stunned.

Needless to say we never saw girlie pictures in our home, again. Fortunately, our son was healthy enough to take this in the stride of life. It could have been different. And, after the fact, as parents know—that was a dumb thing to do to a kid! But, who doesn’t do some stupid stuff while raising a family?

Surely, the pandemic has given us is time to look closely at a lot of factors in life. And, we have slowed down. This has given us time to think. Many may be realizing what’s most important in life.

What about venturing into our mental drawers, meaning those places where we hold beliefs and ideas that no longer serve well? So often these are hidden away and we hardly give them an occasional nod—that is until some phrase or statement pops out of one’s mouth that reveals them.

Take for instance a statement I heard a person say recently, “What does God have to do with anything?” Well…maybe EVERYTHING. But, none-the-less, the man was entitled to that belief—even to express it, given freedom of speech.

Yet, take our beliefs, for instance. Most experts agree that by age six, a person’s belief system is reasonably well formed. But, it is probably safe to say only a small portion of humanity questions beliefs formed early in life. I decided somewhere after mid-life that people believe what they want to believe.

It is so uncomfortable to change a belief, that we much prefer to leave things “as is” when it comes to long held beliefs. So, people often get stuck with self-sufficiency or self-assurances that can produce prejudice and pride. Rather than do a little self-scrutinizing about our beliefs, frequently, we excuse ourselves, opting to spew “it’s all’s good,” or some other self-justifying statement. However, problems come, when our beliefs find us behaving in ways that cause us to lessen our authenticity.

What about habits that just can’t seem to align themselves with what we know could best fit with having a good life? These seem to have a “drawer” of their own. It’s one that gets slammed shut a lot with a mere thought, like, “I’ll do something about that tomorrow.”

Then there is the resentment drawer. The mere smell of it keeps us from opening that one. Still, we dare not leave it to smolder. I feel sure the Lord would say, “Forgive it. I have forgiven you.”

These are deep places of the soul that deserve some pondering.

Looking at what Holy Writ says, this comes to mind, ”For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17). And, “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, until the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).

Most likely, looking at our beliefs and our behaviors—ongoingly, shifting into “clean up” mode when needed—is a good idea. (After all, “to repent” simply means, “to turn around and go in the opposite direction”.)

Seems we owe it to ourselves to take time periodically to look at matters that are important within the scope of eternity.