Recently I was praying for motivation to clean my closet.  Strange thing to pray about, I know.  

But my closet had become a dumping ground for many random things, and I’m embarrassed to say that it had not been cleaned out in years.

One day last month, I was talking to my friend on my drive home from work. I told her that my closet had become an eyesore to me, but I couldn’t find the motivation to clean it.  I also told her that I started praying about that specific need.  

It may seem silly, but I truly believe that the details of my life matter to my heavenly Father.  So praying for my closet wasn’t too trivial a thing for me.

That very same day, I came home from work to a surprise waiting for me in my closet.  The main rod holding the majority of my clothes had pulled away from the wall,  and now half of my clothes were on the floor, while the other half was dangling and ready to fall at any moment!

I remember saying out loud…”Wow God! If this isn’t motivation to clean up this mess, I don’t know what is!”

My sweet friend volunteered to come and help me with this seeming disaster I had on my hands.

Although overwhelming at first, after a few hours and many bags of clothes for donation later, my closet was almost unrecognizable from where it had been.  You see, when I was cleaning out my closet, I realized that I had so many things in there that I didn’t need anymore, while there were other things that just didn’t belong in the closet at all.

But had it not been for the broken mess in front of me, I might still have a closet full of things that I don’t need and I would have had no room for anything new that I might need in the future.

God reminded me of some important truths during this process.  When we pray sometimes things have to unravel before they can get better.

Has this ever happened to you?  Did things seem to get worse after you prayed?  Don’t be discouraged and don’t give up.   But instead take a closer look.

I believe you will see God’s hand weaving through the chaos to prepare you to receive something that is better than what you could have ever imagined before.

Will you trust Him to work things out in His way and in His time?  Can you take a hold of His hand and let Him help you clear out some things that have been holding you back from something better?  

It’s almost never easy, but if you can believe that He is good and trust Him with the process, you might just find the beautiful answer you were waiting for just on the other side of the mess.

~ Vijoy