Remember the parable about cleaning out the house, throwing out the devil (demon) and sweeping it clean? That empty house becomes the target of those demons, and it moves back in with something like seven buddies. I’ve pondered that parable on occasion: clean up one mess, and if you just leave things empty, something will fill the space. So, you might think ahead about what you would like to have fill that space.

And then, in more concrete terms, I had to laugh out loud the other day. I have entirely too many coffee mugs — gifts, collected on trips, swag from work and conferences — you know how this works, right? They were so crowded in my cabinet that I decided to take the situation in hand. I selected several (like 4 or 5) and bestowed them on my daughter. She has only a few, and when we go to visit, we often use all of her coffee mugs on a given morning. Beautiful! I have plans for a few more to go to my son’s house for the same reasons (I have too many, they have too few).

It felt good! There was space on the shelf so that I could arrange the remaining mugs. Sweet! And then my prayer partner for the upcoming Cursillo weekend brought me a gift. You got it – a coffee mug! I had to laugh. I thought about that demon and his 7 buddies. I thought of nature and vacuums. But, I smiled because it is truly a lovely coffee mug all covered in the word(s) “Believe!” I do believe – and this is one of those good replacements in my life. I accept it.