UNDER THE WALL PAPER By Sally I. Kennedy

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Ephesians 5:8

The only telltale sign anything was wrong with the wallpaper in the bathroom, was that it was curling up at the bottom corner. It looked pretty good, but underneath, we discovered black mold. The yucky stuff had to have been growing there a long time in order to get that bad. We finally determined that it had come from a hairline crack in the wall- a small water leak that had gone undetected until the paper was
in this state.

Underneath the wallpaper, the damage was so extensive that even some of the plaster was chunking off. The diagnosis was bad; the cure, worse: we had to take all the paper off, sand the wall, replaster, sand some more, and paint. Amazing how it could look so good on the outside and be so disintegrated and deteriorated on the inside.

That is true of us, too. There have been times in my life when I looked pretty good on the outside, but what was going on under the exterior was far different.

Sometimes things have to grow and fester for a long time. Eventually, when they get bad enough, things begin to change on the outside. Little habits, a little unforgiveness held onto, or a little dishonesty here or there. Small things build and grow, when they're not cleared up and being resolved.

Often this can lead to attitude, people, or business problems, to say nothing of what isn't happening in the relationship with our Father God who desperately desires intimacy with us.

I have been examining the wall paper in other spots. I'm also checking the paper in another room of the house. I was reminded, through all of this, that it would be a good idea to check under the "wallpaper" of my skin, to look into my heart and see if there are any little moldy things growing there. Better to take care of problems early on before the repair is major.