Dust Bunnies

As I was cleaning the house this morning and restoring it to order, I came across some hidden dust bunnies behind one of the stereo speakers. Now, I work each week to keep dust bunnies off of visible surfaces, but when it comes to those hidden...well, I am not so good. There is a delicate balance between obsessive compulsive tendencies and balance. As I moved the speaker to get those dust bunnies, the Lord brought to mind "guard your heart, for out of it come the issues of life" Proverbs 4:23. On heels of that thought came the remembrance of a conversation I had with a friend just this morning about our lack of desire for superficial conversation.
I like deep conversations. I want to know what the Lord has been teaching you. I want to share how He is stretching me and growing me. I want to hear about His miraculous wonders in the lives of His people HERE and NOW. I want to encourage and to be encouraged to persevere in His name. Ok, I'll get off that soap box...
What He shared with me this morning regarding those dust bunnies is how we can spend so much time keeping our surfaces clean, much like the Pharisees and their ritualistic cleaning, but if we don't let the Lord deal with the issues of our hearts and purify them, our walk with Him will remain where it is at, superficial and shallow and wanting more.
No one said that Him dealing with our hearts would be painless or comfortable. Growth occurs outside of our comfort zones. He chastises those whom He loves, much as father disciplines his child. What I can say about that chastisement is that it is rewarding to feel His love. One reward I have experienced is His peace and that is priceless.
I long to go deeper with Him every day, but life gets in my way and throws me curve balls. What I do know, is that I do not get hung up on my failures. He has shown Himself to me and I am encouraged to keep picking myself up by the bootstraps and keep moving forward after Him. "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting that which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead". Philippians 3:12-13
P.S.
Oh, did I get those dust bunnies behind that other speaker? No, that is my, maybe the Lord's way, of keeping those obsessive compulsive behaviors in check.
Have a blessed day in HIS name.