The Attic – My hidden life

The Attic – My hidden life

Have you given much thought to what is in your attic, yes, that area immediately under the roof of your house?  Our home has two attics, one is in the garage and the other is in the house, but both have one thing in common, they are the places for stuff that was too good, or at the time, six plus years ago when we moved into the house, we thought was too good to give away.  The attics of our house have become the place to deposit more stuff we did not have room for, or did not want others to see and they became cluttered, disorderly, and a real mess. 

Often, I’ve gone into the attic looking for something I needed, but after looking for what seemed an eternity but was closer to a few minutes, I came down in defeat, promising myself I will do the hard work and organize my attics.  So after a short six years, I began the task, but it went from a simplistic project to an understanding of myself.   

My first encounter was the many boxes we had never opened in 6 plus years, and where to begin with so little space to even move a box; could I have been that cheap while building the house, I did not allow the builder to put down decking?  It became painfully apparent I needed to deck some of the attic in order have the ability to see what treasure was to be found in those many boxes.  

When you begin a do over, the past often becomes the new reality, and because the opening is much too small for bringing the 4 X 8 X ¾” plywood required to install decking.  At seventy years of age, it seemed those sheets of plywood had grown both in size and weight.  If you are still with me, let me report, after weeks of cutting and carrying plywood up the stairs, and doing some dumpster diving, (we have three houses being built in the area, and it is a cheap source of scraps) and scraps require cutting and some engineering but they helped me keep the project on time and under budget.  Now both attics are decked, to a large degree, and have some shelving so that items have a place to go and they are soon to be labeled so we no longer have clutter.

I had an epiphany after the garage was almost finished, I told my bride that the attic was a picture of much of my life; a total mess, cluttered with thoughts and stuff that was not being used, but was out of sight.  A guest or neighbor who came into the house would have a total wrong impression, for though the attic was in total disarray, the house was always clean and each thing in its proper place, but no one was allowed into the attic, for the attic exposed confusion.

I began to reflect on the attic of my mind, it has some boxes that need not to be opened; they just need to be discarded, but it has others I must open in order to deal with wonderful memories of treasures that God has put into my life on planet earth.  Those treasures have names, Bob Keese, who cut my hair for many years and invited me to a Bible study where God began to exposé my need to leave religion; my identity was being a Baptist; not a relationship with Jesus Christ.  In those boxes that needed opened was the many men who God used to teach me, and some of my bosses who showed me how much I walked by sight and not by faith.  But the box that I needed to open most is the one that shows the highways of my life, and the faithfulness of a Father who loves a rascal like me, a person who He saw before one day happened and still loves me beyond my understanding.

How is your attic, not the part you let others see, but the hidden attic of your soul, are there boxes that need to be opened, and others need to be pitched on the pile of “bought lessons”?  

We should remember that Jesus said; “ For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice