I have never had a purse that I actually loved until I found this one. The multi-colored sequins was stunning, and the over-sized bow was in the perfect shade of pink. The inside had plenty of pockets and enough room for everything a normal woman wants to take along plus added room for my camera or a book. There was a side pocket for my umbrella. Even the name was perfect, the Betsey Johnson Pink Fairy Bow! Everywhere I went, I received compliments from both friends and strangers about how much they loved my purse. I carried it for 2 or 3 years and was sad when I needed to find a replacement because the edges started showing too much wear and tear.
Yes, that purse was absolutely gorgeous on the outside, but sometimes the inside was a different story. Sometimes I threw so much stuff inside that I couldn’t find the really important things when I’d search for them. Sometimes, I’d try to dig through it very discreetly so that there was no way possible for the people close by to catch a glimpse of the inside. I would have been horrified if anyone could have seen all of gum that spilled on the bottom, the collection of ink pens, the papers, the crumpled up receipts and the many other embarrassing items that got thrown in as I rushed through the day.
I always say that you can tell what my life is like by peeking inside my purse. If my purse is a mess, you can pretty much bet that my car and house are in disarray as well. Dig even deeper into my life, and you may find that I’m not always so well put together on the inside either. Oh the things that we women can accumulate on the inside when life gets too busy. Sometimes we don’t have time to deal with hurt, low self-esteem or feelings of being unloved. Furthermore, if we get overloaded and start feeling like we are carrying more than our fair share of the load, jealousy, anger, bitterness or resentment can start to sneak in. We just keep stuffing it all in there as we deal with task after task. If we let things go too long, we can also start adding guilt, despair, hopelessness, self-pity or self-centeredness.
Yes, when my purse is a mess, you can pretty much guess that my whole life is a mess. Just like I need to periodically dump my purse out and sort through the gunk inside, I also need to give the mess in my life over to God and allow Him to sort through the gunk as well. God can help us get rid of all the garbage that keeps us from living life to the full. He can unclutter our minds, untangle our hearts and fill us with peace.
Let’s allow God to clean our lives up, and let’s encourage each other as well. We never know what someone else is struggling with unless they let us look inside. However, we can ask God to help us see others through his eyes. We can ask Jesus to love the people through us, we can build each other up and we can remind each other of the beauty we see in one another’s lives.