Everyone has their least favorite spring cleaning job.
As lightweight as it seems to be, deep dusting is probably one that ranks high on that list. If you have chandeliers, the tedium of cleaning the crystals should be reserved for the most patient of people.
Another fun task…the torture of removing each book from the shelf, actually dusting the book itself (when is the last time you opened that book?), and putting them back on the shelf only to know you will have to do this again.
Where does all this dust come from? Dead skin (nice thought, eh?), fibers from that older green couch, animals, tracked-in dirt and “stuff” blown in from the outdoors are just some of the culprits.
In the spirit, we can get pretty dusty as well. I remember intercessors who were dealing with serious concerns would “dust themselves” off after particularly challenging prayer sessions with people who were possessed or oppressed.
Spiritual dust can also come from our laziness. We let things go.
No matter what our least favorite spiritual spring cleaning job is, know that even the innocuous list-makers such as dust can contain a lot of dead flesh.
PORTAL TO HEAVEN: If physical dust can contain literal dead flesh, just imagine what spiritual dust can include. Regular dusting during devotional times and on the sabbath is good. But deep spring-cleaning dusting can open up portals - and books - that need to see the light of day. And a great secondary portal is looking into the rays of heaven’s mercy during the cleaning.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come…Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 51:10 NKJV, Mark 7:21 NIV, Psalm 139:23,24 NKJV, Psalm 19:14 KJV
COMMENTS:
Spring and spring cleaning go hand in hand . Whenever I think of spring I always think of newness , birds are awake singing , buds on the tree suddenly appear , it's almost winter never existed. Time has a way of passing and with each new day something special occurs . For me , I feel lighter , no more heavy coats , shoes , etc . That's how I feel when I have my quiet moments with God I don't feel as cluttered, he seems easier to reach without that heavy stuff.
Antoinette Renzi, Guilderland, NY