When God Puts Something on Your Heart.....

Do you respond immediately?

Do you wait to get "clarification" that it is actually from God?

Do you push it to the side and ignore it, hoping it was a fleeting thought?

More than a year ago, I felt God's tug on my heart.

It might have even been longer than a year....I'm not sure.

While looking around my own life, I saw clutter.

In a cleaning frenzy, I must admit that I have just thrown

clutter in the trash can to make my life feel less

cluttered.

It worked.

The freeing feeling was amazing....at first.

Then that "cluttered" feeling crept back into my life.

So, once again I decluttered.

I threw clutter in the trash.

I felt free again.

Then HERE it came again!

That feeling I just couldn't shake.

How many times would I have to declutter to get rid of

that nagging feeling I was doing something wrong?

Finally, I stopped.

I prayed.

I opened my Bible.

I tuned into God.

I listened.

God revealed to me His infinite wisdom.

SHARE.

LOVE.

LIVE.

I prayed some more.

Here is what I heard.....

Instead of throwing away perfectly good "clutter".

SAVE IT.

STORE IT.

WHAT?????  Did I HEAR that correctly?

Um, Dear God....I said I have CLUTTER and you want me to SAVE IT and STORE IT?

HELLLLOOOOOO.....

I questioned whether he really understood my problem.

I sat on it for at least a year....surely he didn't want me to SAVE and STORE my clutter.

One day while at my Thursday Sisters' Bible Study....I blurted out a suggestion...

"Hey, what if we had a clothing closet at church and gave away clothes?"

I think I hoped they would not show any excitement...and then I would

know for sure it was not a GOD thing.

WRONG!!!

They were almost TOO excited.

Matter of fact, the entire plan was hatched, planned and set in stone on the church

calendar that very day.

MARCH 26, 2011 would be the very first LOVE CLOSET.

We started spreading the word to save gently used and new clothes.

We facebooked it, we put it in the newspaper, we advertised in the church bulletin.

We made fliers for school, we made fliers for the local food pantry.

We collected items - we asked for ladders and hangers and broomsticks.

This last picture is all that is left of the March 26, 2011 LOVE CLOSET.

(Minus the kids.)

We planned to be open from 9:00am - 2:00pm.

People were at the door at 8:00am.

Each person received a paper grocery sack (Donated by Reasors Grocery).

If they could get it in the sack, they could take if FOR FREE.

Of course in the planning stages we had the nay sayers....but what ifs and so on....

we stood strong and said we would do this from the love in our hearts and

not judge whether someone "really" needed the things or not.

We didn't have any problems because

we knew we were tuned in to what God was calling us to do.

When we finished and locked up on that March 26th day, my heart was

swelling with LOVE and relief for God's children.

Here I sit, typing this post and can honestly say my heart hasn't deflated a smidgen.

Matter of fact, I think I continues to grow bigger.

Our next LOVE CLOSET will be a BACK TO SCHOOL LOVE CLOSET.

We are already SAVING IT and STORING IT.

Thank you God for continuing to whisper to me until I could take it no more.

By SAVING IT and STORING IT, we were able to SHARE IT and SHOW LOVE and in return, LIVE!!

(Thanks Tresa for noticing I had last year's date...oops...it is 2011, sorry)