Casandra Martin

Our daughter is home from school. Another semester of classes, papers, library visits, and late night studying is behind her. She came home with piles of laundry, notebooks, bedding, and, of course, shoes. One look around our house announces that she is home.

It is amazing how one girl can change the feel of a house. Her presence fills every corner. Stuff is piled against the walls. New items are stacked on the tables. Different dishes line the counter. A much more pleasant aroma floats down the hallway. It only takes a few hours for her presence to change the order, smell, rhythm, and feel of the house.

I love it when she comes home. Every time I look at the way her presence fills our house, I learn a new lesson about Jesus. Through her, He gives me a living, breathing picture of what it means for Him to fill my life. I tend to want things to stay well-ordered, neat, and predictable. Jesus wants to move in and rearrange, redesign, and refashion. He wants to touch the simple places where I invest my heart. He wants to have a say in what’s in my kitchen, the books on my shelf, the movies in my cabinet, and the way I walk through the rooms of my life.

My Jesus Resolution today is to let the mess be a mirror. I want the presence of Jesus to be as obvious in my life as the piles of shoes proclaiming the arrival of my daughter. I want evidence of His nearness to be trumpeted through every part of who I am. I want His aroma to fill the hallways, His holiness to permeate my choices, and His goodness to be felt in the corners of my heart. I want to look in the mirror of His grace and ask if someone can easily see the presence of Jesus in my home. Is it obvious that He has taken up residence in my life? Does He feel at home in my heart? My daughter is home, and that is reason to smile. When Jesus is at home, it is pure joy.