Clutter

Scene in my kitchen on Sunday afternoon:

*One toddler size 9 shoe on the floor (who knows where its mate was)
*3/4 of a Transformer toy near the island
*One cap gun on the bottom shelf of the baker's rack
*6 crayons scattered around the breakfast bar
*1 very loved dog toy resting next to the back door

Everything was out of place except for the partridge in a pear tree.....and that's only because we don't have either.
Just shy of being anal retentive about organization, I like my house to be clean and put-together.
Clutter does not lend itself to my sanity. Suffice it to say that with a 3 1/2 year old boy and a 16 year old girl at home, I am insane at least 42% of the time.

Every other Wednesday when I come home from work, I breathe in the smell of clean Fabulosa floors and Windexed mirrors. These are the days a sweet lady cleans my house. Oh such days should come around more often, but that would cost more so I deal with it.

As I was surveying the madness that was my kitchen, I decided to just clean it up on my own instead of waste my breath trying to teach Luke a life-lesson about picking up after yourself. As I knelt down in disgust at the disarray, the thought struck me that my soul gets cluttered just like my house.

*Bad attitude in the long check-out line ("hurry-uuuPP muttered under my breath)
*A sharp tongue unleashed out of frustration at an innocently energetic 3 year old
*Ugly words spoken about an imperfect boss (by an imperfect employee)
*Selfishness in wanting what is mine to remain mine
*Fear of "what will happen" if I obey God in a certain matter

This is just a sample of the clutter that piles up in my heart like dirty laundry.

My soul needs to be de-cluttered every single day. A twice a month house cleaning by a hired service just won't be sufficient. Bringing my heart to the Lord daily and truly listening (that's my issue) to what He's telling me to weed out is a necessity. Otherwise pride and greed can build up and erode our intimacy.

Ephesians 5:26 says, ".....to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,"
A scholar could go several different directions with this, but one thing is clear to me: my spiritual house is cleansed by drenching myself in the Word of God.

Oh that we would all be as diligently clutter-free with our souls as we are with our physical homes. Well, unless you are the aforementioned 16 year old girl.....and you could use some (encouragement?) in being more concerned about the cleanliness of the physical, too.

I want that Wednesday-afternoon-clean-house happiness to be experienced in my "spiritual house" daily.

Thank You, Jesus for the power in Your blood shed on the cross for me. I am hopeless and helpless without You as my cleansing agent.