Faithful Friday: Clean Me

Spring break has begun!  While the kids are lazily planning how little they can accomplish, my mind has been set on cleaning, organizing, and shaking off winter from the house.

Now, obviously I won't spend all my free time scrubbing and sorting.  My days will have a good mixture of hanging out with family, catching up on sleep, and still managing to check needed items off my to do list.

Yesterday, I started the task of putting away winter clothes to make room for warmer weather attire.  It's one I don't look forward to, as it is rather boring and time consuming, but I'm always glad once it's done.  A freshly organized closet makes early mornings so much nicer.  And it always puts a smile on my face to dig out those flip flops!

I spent a good chunk of today purging out cabinets.  Amazing how much junk can accumulate over such a short time.  But six trash bags later was a sign of how much it needed to be done.

The problem with cleaning places nobody really sees, is there isn't much proof of all the work you've done.  Until someone opens the door, they can't appreciate the hours you've spent.

And let's face it, even when you do the deep cleaning of scrubbing floors and walls, most aren't thankful for the sacrifice.

I wonder if God feels that way about us?  

There's been wasted years of my life where I certainly didn't act as if I appreciated the sacrifice Jesus made for me.  For a long while, I just spot cleaned, picked and chose the areas of life I wanted to let Him in.  Sure, He could have my entryway but stay out of the closets.  There were many years where I just scrubbed my appearance, but really didn't allow God to dust the cobwebs of my soul.

But when you take your dirty, your clutter, your sin - and fully expose it to Him, he'll set you free.  And just like the feeling of a freshly clean house in spring, there is nothing that compares to allowing God to cleanse you anew.  And the work he does within you is visible from the outside, much like the view from sparkling clean windows.

Just remember the human side of us continues to get dusty.  We fall back into bad routines.  Or become lazy and disobedient.  Or let the filth of this world influence us.  So even once we've fully committed to Him, we should still check ourselves seasonally.  Everyone needs a spiritual spring cleaning now and then...

So, as I tackle the house this week, might I remind myself to spend time with the Master.  To listen to Him on the areas I may need to dust or sort.  Because it won't matter how much my floors shine, if my feet aren't following the path of the One that matters most.