Houses, and Things, and More Things

The drive in to Robin’s work that day had been like “true confessions” with Mary revealing to Robin the strongholds that she prayed about earlier that morning. As Mary unfolded her heart’s contents out toppled her past history with houses.
You see Mary had counted at least 22 times that her mother had moved since she was born. Who knows how often her mother had re-located in all those years even before Mary’s life began. After moving around so much as a child once she married her first husband Mary never wanted to move again. Nor did she ever have plans to get divorced. Mary laughed as she shared these things with Robin because she realized you should never say “never”. Sadly, Mary recognized that pride had gotten in to her heart. She was proud of the strong, stable, and secure world she thought she lived in. She recalled hearing herself tell people, “Oh yes, we have been married 22 years and lived in the same house, too”
However, all this ended in the twinkling of an eye. One might wonder how well prepared Mary was for it all. She was prepared in some sense. She shared this Godly preparation with Robin that morning on the ride in. “You know” Mary told Robin, “it was the weirdest thing. One day three years before there was ever any inclination of a divorce or separation I walked into my home and the oddest feeling hit me: I felt like I was an alien in a stranger’s home. I couldn’t explain it at the time and had shared it with my best friend, Sharon. After that day the house never had the same hold on me.”
Mary continued her sharing without any interruption from Robin: “When a divorce was evident and I had to walk away from that house God had prepared my heart for that day. There was no looking back and only an occupation with the present moment. I had to focus on resettling in downtown Toronto to do my Masters at the U of T. It didn’t mean it wasn’t painful. Any divorce and relocation are high on the list of stress inhibitors in our lives. But any intimate painful feelings regarding leaving that home were buffered by God’s preparation of my heart.”
Mary then shared with Robin her love for decorating even as a young girl. She recalled painting old worn out dressers with drawers long past opening properly being restored to bright blues and blacks at her artful touch. She remembered painting an old fridge at their cottage and some wood pieces of furniture with a shocking purple paint her mother picked up from someplace.
As Mary thought about all this she realized a lot of that painting was a way of escape and to comfort herself. During those years she had been abused by her mother’s friends and others who happened to come into her young life. There had been no help for it back then and no one to share it with. Counsellors were almost unheard of back then, just as was going to a dentist on a regular basis or taking your dog to a vet.
So all those stuffed feelings had to have been painful and obviously decorating helped her deal with it all. As Mary reflected she realized the purchase of so many “things” in her life had also been comfort food, so to speak.
The cottage, though a legitimate dream, as with all Mary’s obsessions with “houses” was comfort food. Not only that, but the home signified a place of safety and security (which it never was as she grew up). It hit Mary that she had been searching and looking in all the “things in her life, the houses and the decorating” for something that only God could give. It was His Father’s house that had many mansions and this was the place Jesus was going to go ahead and prepare a place for his disciples. As Mary ended her one- sided sharing with Robin her husband culminated the conversation with some much needed prayer for the both of them.
Later at home Mary dropped off some apples at Carolyn’s she had purchased at a farmer’s house on Concession 5. They were a fabulous price and they were Mutsu’s! While there Mary revealed to Carolyn what God had been showing her about her obsessions with buying and selling houses. Carolyn gasped and then remarked “I have just been praying and asking God what this business with all these houses was all about! “
A long conversation ensued which encouraged Mary that God was on tract in her life as Carolyn mentioned that what was happening with Mary was a confirmation of what God was trying to say to Carolyn. That was good news and Mary was glad this all had some purpose! She laughed to herself and walked away from that meeting feeling good.
She had joy in her heart and Mary realized this was a prayer being answered. As Mary reflected on the past months of preparing to sell, getting rid of all the things, closing her business and getting rid of those books, and even letting go of those journals full of her past tormented life she realized it all had served a good purpose. Her house was quite bare of all those possessions that reflected Mary’s need for comfort and security.
Now there was little left more than a house with many empty shelves. Would God take all this away as well? Mary didn’t have the answer for that; all she knew was that houses, things and more things were not to be her source of security. The name of the Lord was the strong tower that the righteous were to run to and be saved and not theses earthy riches.
Mary realized it was God’s perfect timing for this to happen. She surely didn’t know what was going to transpire but she trusted that God was a good God who had plans to prosper her and not to harm her. She would hold tight to this truth no matter what storm might come.

Strongholds

The week had been difficult as God’s truth was beginning to dawn on Mary that perhaps she was a bit obsessed with houses and security. She wanted freedom from this obsession. She realized it was perhaps a stronghold. But she also knew the weapons of her warfare ( and praying was an important one) were mighty in bringing down these strongholds. She also knew it wasn’t all up to her.
God drew Mary into a gentle humbleness of this reality early one morning as she sat in prayer. She read from three different translations the powerful truth that it was God who must do the work in her. She read from I King 8 v 58
"that

He may incline our hearts

to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.NKJ
58 May

he turn our hearts

to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.NIV
58 May

he give us the desire

to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, laws, and regulations that he gave our ancestors. NLT
After reading this Mary prayed:
Lord, the last few days we have prayed about moving to Windsor but I get a vague sense that moving may not be what you are after but a new heart in me. I have been made aware that sometimes we have strongholds, things we are attached to in an inordinate way.
As I look at my desire to move I wonder if it is the desire for a house that is the stronghold, the desire for financial security or just the comfort in decorating that is my stronghold. I confess Lord:” I need your help in this.”
Now as I read King Solomon’s prayer this morning from I King 8 I realize that You, O Lord, have to do this work in me. I do the praying. It is you who work in me even to incline my heart to yourself, to turn my heart and all its desires towards you. It is You alone who give me a desire to do Your will.
Father, forgive me if I have been attached idolatrously to houses, safety, protection and money rather than You. I need a revelation, a rema of this sin or sins, Lord. I want to bring down these strongholds and follow only You no matter where you take me. I want Your aspirations for my life. I realize Lord I can’t even want this change unless you make it real within me. Dear Lord, I am helpless without You. Have mercy on me today and be gentle in me to clean my heart of these sins and put your desire in me, Lord. Thank you, Lord, for this prayer which even you have instigated within me. I realize I do nothing on my own but all things comes from You. You make all things possible. I will trust You today for a more complete revelation of my sins and a tearing down of these strongholds.
I pray also Lord that You deal with the disappointment and other negative emotional baggage that might be attached to these obsessions. Lord, my final please is that through this time I might find that Your Joy is my strength.
All this I pray In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen