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Spring Cleaning
I love the way a friend of mine described the beginning of spring. He posted a picture of a blossoming tree surrounded by snow. Under the caption it read, “Spring is yawning and stretching.” Indeed it is. As the snow begins to thaw and the trees start to flower, the world suddenly comes to life. Everything is bright, colorful, and new. During the winter I don’t have need for my sunglasses because the darkness is almost constant. With the arrival of spring, I would be a fool to leave the house without them. The glaring sun is sharp, bringing into focus all those things that had been blending into the dreary background of winter.
I started my spring cleaning yesterday. While I hardly sat down and got more accomplished than I have in weeks, there is still a long, long way to go. I live in big two-story home with three bedrooms and an office. The office used to be our son’s room and when he moved out, he left the place as-is. I spent weeks dispersing of his belongings, cleaning, and converting his space into mine. It took a long time and with the exception of washing the blinds and the window, it’s nearly finished. I will have several other rooms to go through before I am ready to sit back and relax. This morning during my quiet time with God I heard him whisper, “When are you going to start on the inside?”
Like my house, there are rooms within my spirit that have been neglected. The cold dampness of winter has left things rotten, moldy, and stinky. My attitude could use a serious scrubbing and polishing. My thoughts, words, and deeds are in desperate need of a broom, dustpan, and mop. Simply put, my insides are in as much need of some Pine Sol as the rest of my home. As I gaze around at the cobwebs, dust, and grime I wonder where I’m going to start and how many scrubbing pads will I need? I’m guessing quite a few.
The Word of God says that His divine power has given me everything I need for life and godliness. I am allowed to partake of his promises because I am his. I have all the tools I need. I just have to use them.
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7
I pray that as people enter my home, the clean windows and blinds will be a true reflection of the appearance of my soul as well.