When I clean, I’ve been known to be a shover.
I shove things in drawers. Closets. Cabinets. Anywhere I can hide the mess so my space looks tidy. On the surface, everything appears in order… but inside those drawers, there’s still chaos waiting to be dealt with.
If I’m honest, I’ve done the same thing in my heart.
Shoving our mess down in life isn’t the way to go either. Because sooner or later, what we’ve buried demands attention. Unaddressed hurts, unresolved mistakes, and buried disappointments don’t just disappear. They seep into our attitudes, our reactions, and our relationships — often in ways we don’t even realize.
I’ve seen this play out in my own life.
One time my husband gave me simple feedback, and my response was completely over the top. My reaction didn’t match the moment at all. Later, I had to ask myself, Why did I respond like that? What did I shove into the closet of my heart that just came spilling out sideways?
That moment showed me something important — I couldn’t clean this mess on my own. I needed God to reveal what was hiding beneath the surface.
Like David in Psalm 139, I asked the Lord to search my heart and uncover what anxious or wounded places were still lingering there, so He could lead me into healing and wholeness.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
— Psalm 139:23–24 (NLT)
I’m still working through some of the mess I shoved away over the years, but the Holy Spirit is helping me clean house. A quick surface tidy might make life look good for a while, but only dealing with what’s underneath brings real peace. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just help us tidy up — He transforms our hearts from the inside out.
We all have hidden corners where we’ve stored pain, fear, shame, or disappointment, hoping time would make them disappear. But God, in His kindness, invites us to bring those things into the light. Not to condemn us — but to heal us.
Because what we hide continues to shape us.
But what we surrender, God restores.
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Today’s Step
Today, open one “drawer” of your heart.
Ask the Holy Spirit, “Lord, is there something I’ve been shoving down instead of surrendering?” When He brings something to mind — a hurt, a fear, a regret, or even a reaction you don’t understand — don’t push it back down. Bring it honestly before Him.
You don’t have to fix it. You just have to bring it into the light.
Let Him search you, not to shame you, but to lead you into freedom and healing.
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1 thought on “I Choose Today to Bring My Hidden Hurts into the Light”
In Pennsylvania they use a term call “Readying Up” or Red Up for short. It’s designed to communicate getting a house reasonably tidy before guests arrive or just a general cleaning.
You brought that into spiritual realm. Since we are His Temple, His House here, the deeper we “Red Up” the better. I Choose to “Red Up”
Keep sharing!
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