"The choices we make change
the story of our life." ©
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Spring Cleaning in December
Posting by Guest Blogger: Karen O'Connor
Day Four of Seven
The thought of cleaning house puts some people to bed. But for others it's a reason to get up. I'm one of the latter. I don't LOVE housework but I find it satisfying in an odd sort of way. I like chasing those dust bunnies around my hardwood floors and actually catching them, and I love the look and feel and smell of a lemon-fresh bathroom. But most of all I get pleasure from wiping down the photos and art work that adorn the walls of our home, laundry room, and garage. Yes, garage. We have paintings and photos there too.
I got in touch with this new dimension of cleaning a couple of years ago when we did a major overhaul––you know, the kind that involves painting walls, peeling off ugly wallpaper from the guest bathroom, and discarding clutter––the stuff I never should have purchased in the first place. I wonder what treasure today will be tomorrow's trash. Hmm!
Anyway, back to cleaning. As I spritzed the glass and dusted the picture frames that held photos of my children, my husband, my parents and siblings and myself, I got misty-eyed. I even cried over some. How could that pudgy little toddler be a man of 40 today? How could my darling daughters once standing on the balance beam in their leotards be mothers of their own children? Two of my kids are 'boomers.' Where does that leave me? In the dust! (Pardon the pun.)
Being amazed, however, has given way to gratitude. And it continues to this day, December 7, 2006, as I prepare my home for the company arriving for the holidays. I will never clean my house again with the same 'let's get it over with' attitude that marked cleaning days of long ago. Now I use the time to lift my head and my mop and broom toward heaven—blessing God and thanking Him for the gift of life, especially the lives of the people I love so much, whose framed photos I dust and hold close to my heart. Even cleaning one's house can be a kind of U-turn—from obligation and duty to praise and gratitude. ". . .give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thes. 5:18).
Day Four of Seven
The thought of cleaning house puts some people to bed. But for others it's a reason to get up. I'm one of the latter. I don't LOVE housework but I find it satisfying in an odd sort of way. I like chasing those dust bunnies around my hardwood floors and actually catching them, and I love the look and feel and smell of a lemon-fresh bathroom. But most of all I get pleasure from wiping down the photos and art work that adorn the walls of our home, laundry room, and garage. Yes, garage. We have paintings and photos there too.
I got in touch with this new dimension of cleaning a couple of years ago when we did a major overhaul––you know, the kind that involves painting walls, peeling off ugly wallpaper from the guest bathroom, and discarding clutter––the stuff I never should have purchased in the first place. I wonder what treasure today will be tomorrow's trash. Hmm!
Anyway, back to cleaning. As I spritzed the glass and dusted the picture frames that held photos of my children, my husband, my parents and siblings and myself, I got misty-eyed. I even cried over some. How could that pudgy little toddler be a man of 40 today? How could my darling daughters once standing on the balance beam in their leotards be mothers of their own children? Two of my kids are 'boomers.' Where does that leave me? In the dust! (Pardon the pun.)
Being amazed, however, has given way to gratitude. And it continues to this day, December 7, 2006, as I prepare my home for the company arriving for the holidays. I will never clean my house again with the same 'let's get it over with' attitude that marked cleaning days of long ago. Now I use the time to lift my head and my mop and broom toward heaven—blessing God and thanking Him for the gift of life, especially the lives of the people I love so much, whose framed photos I dust and hold close to my heart. Even cleaning one's house can be a kind of U-turn—from obligation and duty to praise and gratitude. ". . .give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thes. 5:18).
