“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

1 Peter 4:8

Belly laughs and giggles erupted from our son’s bedroom, so I peered my head around the door jam. Four kids sat on his bed while he proudly displayed a flannel shirt on its hanger. “What’s going on in here?” I asked, surprised to see all the kids crowded together in one bedroom over Christmas break.

“We’re taking closet tours!” my oldest explained, “Spontaneous closet tours!” and they burst into laughter again. They went on, telling how they explored each closet, the owner explaining the contents, pulling out items to showcase, arguing the purpose of some, and bringing out long lost items from hidden back corners. It made me smile, watching them candidly share the deepest corners of their rooms.

Honestly, I related. The last several months have felt like a spontaneous closet tour of my own life, revealing and exposing deep hurts, disappointments, and character flaws to those close enough to see the junk being drug out of the corners of my heart. For a girl who’s pretty good at shoving things back into dark corners, dragging personal wounds out in front of an audience takes a lot of humility. Unfortunately, this is humility I can’t muster up on my own, which is perhaps why the spontaneous part was necessary to bring it all out. With circumstances out of my control, my emotions have been on parade without my control. Boy, it’s been HARD and my pride has taken a hit.

In the mess of me dragging out all my stuff to sort through in front of people, I discovered one beautiful gem. My very own set of “brothers and sisters” on their knees, sifting through the menagerie of my stuff beside me. Sometimes, I hash out parts of my heart and life with pride (like those five laughing kids!) but sometimes I fall on my face in humility, wondering how I ended up here. The people beside me show me what love is, what redemption is, what healing is, what hope is. The valuable gem discovered in my mess of a closet isn’t something I own, it’s something we have together.

In 1 Peter, the beginning of chapter four has a subtitle in my Bible called, “Steward’s of God’s Grace.” I feel thankful for those trudging this season alongside me, stewarding God’s grace and loving me well in difficult times. Lovers of Jesus don’t scoff or wonder about all the junk drug out of my heart…they just love.

Through the earnest love of God, my own closet tour will not devastate me. It only shows me that love covers a multitude of sins. For this, I am humbly and eternally thankful.

What about you? When is the last season you’ve really dug into the depths of your soul’s past to review, in your present reality, the hurts from your past? There is healing in the digging, I promise. Find a few faithful friends and start sorting through the dark corners of your soul. Their love will astound you and usher you into the presence of His grace and love. Hope is on the other side of the hurts cluttering up the recesses of your heart. 

Experiencing the deep love of your brothers and sisters in Christ will equip you with your own deep love overflowing to those around you. And the love will keep overflowing and overflowing. You may soon be the audience of a close friend’s very own closet tour!  Bright futures, and maybe even our very own belly-laughs, lie ahead for you and for me.