Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
I love this time of year. The crisp mornings and cool evenings are a blessing after the hot, dry summer we have experienced. I always enjoy the burst of colors that autumn seems to bring out in nature. Another thing that seems to be in abundance this time of year is spider webs. Especially in the early mornings, when the sun begins to show itself and the dew on the web is glistening from it’s light. We have a fence that is between us and the neighboring property and each morning you see several webs stretched across the fencing. Each unique in its own way. I find their design and details intriguing.
I grew up hearing the term spider web referring to those you would see outside. For whatever reason, when found inside, most people call them cobwebs. I personally used to think of them as two different things, but the dictionary refers to a cobweb as a web spun by a spider. This makes me giggle as I think back to a recent weekend trip my family took. We stayed in a cabin, I won’t say where, but I will say there was an abundance of cobwebs. These did not leave me feeling intrigued, but rather left me and the family with the creeps. The cabin definitely could have used a good cleaning with a Swiffer Duster. Who knows, maybe it had been thoroughly clean after the last guests, but some time had passed and it gave the spiders a chance to create a new living space. Anyways, I was just glad to back in my house. Where the cobwebs are mine and I am used to them 🙂
As we walk through this life, we can also let cobwebs build up in our hearts. We are good at stuffing our issues away in the darkest corners. No one will see them there. We tell ourselves out of sight, out of mind. We can all get our hearts broken, and our feelings hurt. How we deal with it will have an impact on our future. When we don’t address current issues and we tuck them deep in our heart, they have a tendency to resurface from time to time.
Hurt can come in a variety of forms. It can be from anyone within, or on the outside of our circle. If we don’t seek out God’s help when dealing with difficult people or difficult situations, we often just have the tendency to try to ignore the pain. Pack it away deep inside. This is where cobwebs can start to to manifest in our hearts. Webs of hurt, fear, rejection, betrayal, anger and jealously can start to build up. Pretty soon, one of these emotions will link up with another, causing the web to become stronger and larger. Just because we ignore the problem doesn’t mean the effects from it have disappeared. They are still there lingering. My point is this, life is hard. People will hurt us and let us down. We will hurt others and let them down. If we don’t face the hurt, and pray to God asking him to help us process our way through the pain, we can let our hearts become hardened over time. We build walls. We lose our compassion and we stay guarded. We don’t let people in and we become isolated. This is where the enemy wants you. Alone. Do not fall for his tricks. Remember the One who has promised that he will never leave you. You are one of his. Ask God to help you tear down the walls you have started constructing, and help clean out the areas of your heart that need swept. He can do that and so much more when we are willing to surrender to him and be obedient. Don’t let past hurts sit and fester, and keep you from living the life he has for you. There is always room for growth. When we start to realize how imperfect we are, but yet God still chose to love us and forgive us, it gives us the perspective to see others as he sees them. Show grace to those around you, and more importantly, show it to yourself. Despite how you may feel, your doing a good job. Each day may be a struggle, but keep looking up and moving forward. When the answer is beyond our reach, trust God with the outcome.
Keep moving forward,
Hayley W
Unpolished & Imperfect 