I was raised in a home where we took our shoes off after we walked in the door. Piles of shoes decorated the utility room at the entrance to our kitchen. Not everyone follows this practice. When I started traveling to Japan back in 1998 I noticed this was a requirement. When you walk into a home in Japan there is typically an entryway with a cabinet that holds shoes. And there are a plethora of slippers waiting for you to slide on so that you may enter the house and be on your way.
I still follow this rule but I don’t have a fancy entryway or a cabinet. I usually leave them at the door or take them off immediately and carry them up to my closet. (That is even a no-no in Japan…you leave them near the door). When I was a kid I did this so I didn’t track in mud from the ditch…but now, this practice has more to do with not bringing negative energy into the place where I spend most of my time…my home.
So you can shield your home as best as you can but stuff is still going to get inside, right? Humans are just dirty. I can be the worst because I am a super klutz. I drop stuff all the time. The people who own this condo where we rent must have paid a pretty penny for this stain resistant carpet upstairs because Lord knows I have spilled some stuff. But amazingly you would never know. One day I spilled an entire glass of grape juice on the floor in my bedroom. I stared at it for a minute and thought, “WELL, CRAP.” I ran and grabbed a towel and to my amazement every single drop of the juice was soaked up by the towel. THERE WAS NO SIGN OF GRAPE JUICE! If and when I ever buy another home I am going to find out the details about this magical carpet!
So this morning I was watering my plants. I sat the watering can down on the carpet and forgot about it. Of course I kicked it over when I walked by a few minutes later. My sock was completely saturated and my foot was cold. Again, I thought, “Well, crap.” But this time when I grabbed the towel I KNEW it would soak up the water. Besides, it is water so there isn’t going to be a stain. But still, spilling stuff on the floor is annoying, isn’t it? The carpet is completely dry now just minutes after spilling an entire can full of water on it. The chemicals in this magical carpet repel liquids and dirt and keep my home clean.
Why am I writing about carpet? When I was soaking the water up with the towel and not stressed out about it at all, it made me think of Ephesians 6:10-18. This one of my favorite passages:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
I make a conscious effort not to bring negative energy into my home via my dirty feet. But most importantly I KNOW I need to work more on not allowing the negative energy inside myself.
Go back and re-read that passage. I highlighted the important points (WHICH IS BASICALLY ALL OF IT!!! 🙂 )
Put on the full armor of God, (spray that stain resistant chemical as much as you need to!) so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. He is always lurking. BE READY.
Blessings,
Stacey ~ iamalive