Rearranging the Furniture
I hate rearranging the furniture. Several of my family and friends find rearranging furniture to be…fun? For me, moving the large puzzle of chairs, dressers, and couches is annoying. I do it when I have to, but I’d rather not.
Why don’t I like rearranging the furniture? Well, I put it where I wanted it THE FIRST TIME. Typically, I gave time and thought to the shape and function of the room when I moved in. Why repeat the work? On some level, I feel like I failed if I move things around because that means I missed some detail the first time I did the task. And, isn’t a waste of time? “Haste makes waste,” right? “Do it right the first time so you don’t have to do it again!” Time is valuable.
Ok, I am being a little overdramatic here. But I honestly do feel like it is a waste of time if I have to move my furniture. Recently, however, the need arose and I rearranged the living room, playroom, and nursery! The baby grew out of some of the infant toys. The 3-year-old received new toys as gifts. The efficiency of the room had deteriorated to such a state that something HAD to be done. What surprised me most, though, was the entertainment value of simply MOVING toys around to different rooms and pulling toys out of storage! My small humans loved the variety and the “new” toys that reappeared from under the couch!
Adults sometimes like variety, but there are areas for each of us that we prefer NOT to change. Like rearranging the furniture for me, being pushed to change causes annoyance and feelings of failure. Didn’t I get this right the first time?
The Lord has been showing me the value of fellowship. For many of us, Covid shut down our events of fellowship with Christians. We created new habits that did NOT involve church activities. Now, God keeps bringing this verse to my mind: “and let’s consider how to encourage one another in love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting together [fellowship], as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
I always read the Hebrews verses as a command (and fellowship/meeting together is something God asks us to do faithfully!) However, this time God brought my focus to the valuable results of fellowship. In meeting together, we ENCOURAGE each other, challenge each other, serve each other, and more!
Is God calling you to begin “rearranging the furniture”? Change can be annoying and uncomfortable, but maybe the changes He is making in your life are to draw you into fellowship with other believers? Or, maybe by making those changes in your life and schedule, God is moving the light you shine to reach someone else who needs encouragement?
