Clean House

Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Psalm 86:4 NIV

Every woman fantasizes about the day her husband will say, “It’s okay, honey, I’ll clean the house for you today.” Well, friends, my dreams just came true.

I clean the house on Fridays. It’s my routine. But last Friday was the first day of my husband’s vacation time. As I grabbed the disinfectant spray and headed for the bathroom, he grabbed me by the waist and uttered the most charming and heart-stopping words a man could utter, “I’m going to clean for you today. Take the day off.”

While I pittered and pattered around the house, I watched the man sanitize with vigor. He dusted things that were long overdue, and polished some areas I tend to gloss over. I stood in the mirror applying my makeup while he scoured the shower. He sprayed and scrubbed and made comments like “Yuck,” and “Look at this,” as he produced a sponge covered in grim.

Soon my delight over his enthusiasm turned to displeasure. I pride myself in being an excellent housekeeper, always straightening and organizing. Was he trying to insult me by showing the filth that obviously I missed in my cleaning only seven days before? Was I not as good as him?

As I posed these questions to myself, I realized how ridiculous I was being. He was more zealous about cleaning because he didn’t do it every week. I, on the other hand, had become a stale housekeeper. I glazed over areas that needed to be unpolluted. I ignored items that deserved attention. I turned a blind eye to needs calling for my help.

I wondered if this described my Christian walk, as well. Do I turn my nose up at the passion of new Christ followers and shrug it off with a pious, “That will wear off”? Do I ignore needs and glaze over areas of my life that need to be unpolluted because I’m in a monotonous routine? Do I miss out on the joy because I am more concerned with how someone else’s actions make me look?

Oh, Lord, please create in me a passion for your Word. Let me be continuously fervent in serving You. Give me joy. Keep me fresh and never let me become stale. Please empty me of me, Lord, and fill me with You. Amen.