Out of sight out of mind. It's a great saying and tool when it comes to avoiding addictions or bad habits. If you don't have alcohol in your home then you can't drink (as readily) if you are watching your weight then not having those sugary, salty, chocolatey items in your home then it's easier to choose a healthy option. If it's an addiction to social media or pornography then not having access to the internet is a great way to stay away from those images or temptations.
But there are times when out of sight out of mind is an unhealthy tool. I realized this myself today as I noticed how disgusting the shower was in our one and only bathroom. You see I don't use the shower I prefer to sit and soak in the tub and let my body rest from the strain of the day. So I don't tend to think about the shower even when I am doing a bathroom clean I tend to skip over the shower.
So as I was tidying up in the bathroom today I opened the shower door to check for facecloths that my children tend to leave in there I realized just how bad it had gotten. We have hard water with some iron that stains the walls but this was way beyond that general look of it not being clean.
I tried to think of all the ways to procrastinate about getting it clean but the more I thought about it the more it bothered me so I grabbed my cleaning stuff and resigned myself to spend the next hour cleaning and scrubbing it so that it wasn't as much of an embarrassment to me. I even told my husband that he and the boys should have to clean it since they use it and I don't. He closed his office door after saying "but you do such a good job". Sigh. He's right I guess. I would probably not be happy with how they cleaned it so again I took a deep breath and got started.
In the end even with interruptions from the cat and the dog it only took me about 15 minutes to get it clean. That included taking all the shampoo bottles, body washes and toothbrushes out and getting them wiped off. (Don't get me started on brushing your teeth in the shower gross)
My point? Be mindful of what you are putting out of sight. Are you putting your need for easy ahead of what is right or needed? Sometimes the things we need to see are the hard things in our life; not so that we are never resting and enjoying the fun and easy things but so that when those times come we are free to truly enjoy them without the nagging in our minds of all the things we are putting our energy into forgetting or ignoring.
"You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you." Psalm 128:2
Am I going to be blessed with great fortune for scrubbing a shower? Not in a monetary way no; but my children and husband who use that shower with have a more pleasant experience than they did before, the overall look of the room is much brighter and inviting, those 15 minutes of work I will have pleased my family, and by doing things that bring blessing to my family, brings blessings from the Lord whom all good things flow.
So what are you keeping out of sight? Are you keeping your addiction out of sight? Are you keeping your grief and sorrow out of sight of others? Stop. Bring those things to light, take them out of the darkness so that they may be healed and bring blessing and relief to your mind and your life.