DEEP CLEAN
by Jodi Keeling
First day of fall has come...even though it is still 90 degrees here in Arkansas...so I guess it’s time to get on the fall train with all that nasty Pumpkin Spice stuff.
With fall being here, it was time to do the dreaded closet clean out.
I started with my daughter’s closet and quickly remembered that we did a deep clean on her room just last month, so I was pretty shocked to see the amount of trash that had accumulated in a such a short time. It was honestly depressing. How can a small eight year-old literally hide that much junk? I don’t know about your kids, but mine feel that when I say, “I am going to help you clean” that I have done them a horrible act of service. They know its fixing to get real and Momma is going through everything. After two hours of pitching junk in a trash bag and sorting all the clothes, we finally got it done. When we were finished, she could see everything in her closet and actually find her clothing. Imagine that? I then explained that if she will make sure she picks up a little every day, it will not take as long the next time. Which we have had that conversation several times.
Later that evening, I began to wonder...
”How much junk do I let seep into my life on a daily basis?”
Think about it...
How many times does a remark by a friend or loved one get under your skin?
You see a post on social media and your feathers get ruffled a bit, or you’reat your wits end with kids arguing (yours may not do that, but mine do) and you react in a not so Proverbs 31 woman kind of way... all because you did not take the time to open the Word of God and neglected to stop and spend some time with the Lord in prayer. I think we could ALL say that we have failed in one or even all of these areas from time-to-time.
These things may be small, but if we do not get a hold of the small things, the small things become big things.
When Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31 “I die daily”, I believe he is talking of things like this.
How much of a deep clean do we really need in our lives?
How much better of an attitude would we have if we woke up daily and gave all our worries and burdens to the Lord?
How distant do we get when we do not spend time in prayer and in the Word of God?
There are SO many times in my life when I feel like the world is crumbling around me. That is for sure not God’s fault!
He tells us to come to Him with our cares.
Matthew 11: 28-30
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
He wants us to rest in Him and His promises.
Don’t let your “closet” get so dirty with the burdens of the world that you can’t enjoy the blessings of God.
Ephesians 3:20
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
I pray that each of us today find time to throw away the trash that burdens us down, while resting in the Truth that our Heavenly Father loves us and is already taking care of every problem, big or small, we may have.
Philippians 4:8-9
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
With fall being here, it was time to do the dreaded closet clean out.
I started with my daughter’s closet and quickly remembered that we did a deep clean on her room just last month, so I was pretty shocked to see the amount of trash that had accumulated in a such a short time. It was honestly depressing. How can a small eight year-old literally hide that much junk? I don’t know about your kids, but mine feel that when I say, “I am going to help you clean” that I have done them a horrible act of service. They know its fixing to get real and Momma is going through everything. After two hours of pitching junk in a trash bag and sorting all the clothes, we finally got it done. When we were finished, she could see everything in her closet and actually find her clothing. Imagine that? I then explained that if she will make sure she picks up a little every day, it will not take as long the next time. Which we have had that conversation several times.
Later that evening, I began to wonder...
”How much junk do I let seep into my life on a daily basis?”
Think about it...
How many times does a remark by a friend or loved one get under your skin?
You see a post on social media and your feathers get ruffled a bit, or you’reat your wits end with kids arguing (yours may not do that, but mine do) and you react in a not so Proverbs 31 woman kind of way... all because you did not take the time to open the Word of God and neglected to stop and spend some time with the Lord in prayer. I think we could ALL say that we have failed in one or even all of these areas from time-to-time.
These things may be small, but if we do not get a hold of the small things, the small things become big things.
When Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31 “I die daily”, I believe he is talking of things like this.
How much of a deep clean do we really need in our lives?
How much better of an attitude would we have if we woke up daily and gave all our worries and burdens to the Lord?
How distant do we get when we do not spend time in prayer and in the Word of God?
There are SO many times in my life when I feel like the world is crumbling around me. That is for sure not God’s fault!
He tells us to come to Him with our cares.
Matthew 11: 28-30
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
He wants us to rest in Him and His promises.
Don’t let your “closet” get so dirty with the burdens of the world that you can’t enjoy the blessings of God.
Ephesians 3:20
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
I pray that each of us today find time to throw away the trash that burdens us down, while resting in the Truth that our Heavenly Father loves us and is already taking care of every problem, big or small, we may have.
Philippians 4:8-9
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”