Spring Cleaning

I have about 3 minutes before my little man wakes up but I wanted to jot this thought down for further digestion later...

Why is it that its slightly more enjoyable to clean someone else's house, dishes, child, car, etc ______ (fill in the blank) than your own home/mess? I reckon that its because we don't have nearly as much emotional connection to that task. Once cleaned, you probably never have to clean it again, or you realize that its not a regular occurance that you will have to return to clean that other person's mess.

A thought hit me today, which I will eventually get to below, as I was slaving away by cleaning my bathroom (blah blah blah) and totally not enjoying it. Yet, recently I went over to a friend's house to borrow a dress and I happily wanted to help her clean up her after-dinner dishes. I wanted to lighten her load (as well as have an excuse to hang out a little longer). My thought this afternoon was: its more enjoyable to clean at other people's homes, but I never really get to enjoy the outcome and relish in the now-clean environment because at the end of the day I too must go home and face my mess (issues, if you will).

On to the point. My mess is continual. I keep having to address it regularly to maintain cleanlines. If I simply clean up other people's messes I never get to enjoy the outcome for too long because I need to go home and face my own mess. I'm now talking personal -very personal. Did you catch that? I'm talking about my internal mess. My pride, my past, my 'issues'. For the first time ever I am ready and I want to face my mess/issues in humility and be able to enjoy the view and freedom for myself. I want to celebrate the freedom and cleanliness that comes with gettin' down & dirty with my mess and sin. I want to experience the freedom that is promised in Galatians 5: It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free!

I can help other people all day long and it be a lot easier than dealing with my own mess. BUT, the real enjoyment and real freedom is going to come when I first deal with my own issues/sin/crap/what-have-you. This is where I want to be. Free. Then, I believe we will be better used and able to share about the true enjoyment of freedom, which will spark hope, humility, and freedom for others.

SO - pick up your own toilet brush & get scrubbin' and enjoy the view and freedom that is promised!

What good is a blog w/out a pict (so I've been asked)? Here's my second-born getting his scrub on and cleanin' up ;)