Devotion for March 2, 2016
01/03/16 22:27
Greetings!!
It was a beautiful, warm sunny day! Nothing better when you are nearing the end of winter and the beginning of spring than one of these magnificent glimpses of the spring to come! Days like this just lift your mood and make you feel really good! After cold days and gray skies, a sunny day is truly a treat.
So today was one of those great days. From early in the morning it was evident that the sun was going to shine - there were birds singing as if they too knew that they were going to enjoy this mild weather. It was fun to put on a T-shirt rather than having to worry about long sleeves and sweaters - and any excuse to wear the flip-flops makes for a pleasant experience.
We sat down on the porch with a cup of coffee and began to plan the day - a warm spring-like day calls for special plans, of course.
Then after a trip through the house, I realized the down side to a day filled with bring solar light…. the smears on the windows from the grandchildren and the dogs noses were quite evident, those flakes of dust revealed themselves in the beams of the sunlight, the fingerprints from just about everyone popped out on the stainless steel appliances. All those imperfections that are hidden during the dark, gray days of winter; imperfections that are easy to ignore because they just aren’t that noticeable - that is until the bright sun rises up and reveals all those household blemishes that dot around the house.
That is when there is a quick plan change…. All those thoughts of a romp in the out of doors in the sunshine under the clear blue skies falls by the wayside as you begin to think more along the lines of cleaning strategies.
It becomes one of those good news/bad news moments as you realize that the sunshine has revealed all these cleaning needs in the house which makes you know that your day is going to be a busy one filled with rags and brooms and and buckets of water and cleaning products instead of picnic lunches and outdoor fresh air….
Well, maybe you will still get a blast of that fresh air because the first thing you do on this day of awesome weather is to throw open as many windows as you can. What a great way to start the day - opening the windows and hearing all the sounds from the outside; feeling the warmth of the air as it passes through; the refreshing little breeze that occasionally feels like the outside is actually coming in. And even though you know there is a ton of work ahead of you, the open windows are literally a breath of fresh air that help to inspire you to hunt up those cleaning supplies you have been ignoring for so long. Opening up the window and letting in that outside air just seems to revitalize everything - including you!
So the good news of this impending cleaning marathon is that the sunshine that made you a bit sad as it illuminated all the mars on the floors and windows and furniture and helped you realize what you had put off for so long, also acts like a neon arrow that helps you see where the cleaning needs to take place. That sunshine is like a pointy finger that helps you locate the work that needs to be done instead of having to examine and search and maybe even guess where the needs might be. While the sunshine may disclose the problems, the sunshine also makes it easier to locate them and do something about it!
All of us have dirty fingerprints and smudges and dust as part of who we are. All of us have neglected the imperfections and the accumulated dirty corners and the stains within us. It is much easier for us to ignore these places inside of us that need a thorough scrubbing until a moment happens that acts just like a sunbeam highlighting those parts of us that we have tried for so long to ignore; we have worked hard to conceal what we know needs work and then, darn it!, the work we need to do in ourselves is illuminated and there is no choice but to deal with ourselves.
But that is when God will open the windows and send in the breath of his spirit and help us get out the duster and the broom and begin to work on cleaning up our lives; working on the dark places and the sin that beleaguers us and the baggage that has accumulated. With God’s spirit to help us, the soul cleaning will still take as much (or more!) work as cleaning our houses, but we know we won’t have to do it on our own and the help we have will know exactly where the work needs to be done!
Amen!!
It was a beautiful, warm sunny day! Nothing better when you are nearing the end of winter and the beginning of spring than one of these magnificent glimpses of the spring to come! Days like this just lift your mood and make you feel really good! After cold days and gray skies, a sunny day is truly a treat.
So today was one of those great days. From early in the morning it was evident that the sun was going to shine - there were birds singing as if they too knew that they were going to enjoy this mild weather. It was fun to put on a T-shirt rather than having to worry about long sleeves and sweaters - and any excuse to wear the flip-flops makes for a pleasant experience.
We sat down on the porch with a cup of coffee and began to plan the day - a warm spring-like day calls for special plans, of course.
Then after a trip through the house, I realized the down side to a day filled with bring solar light…. the smears on the windows from the grandchildren and the dogs noses were quite evident, those flakes of dust revealed themselves in the beams of the sunlight, the fingerprints from just about everyone popped out on the stainless steel appliances. All those imperfections that are hidden during the dark, gray days of winter; imperfections that are easy to ignore because they just aren’t that noticeable - that is until the bright sun rises up and reveals all those household blemishes that dot around the house.
That is when there is a quick plan change…. All those thoughts of a romp in the out of doors in the sunshine under the clear blue skies falls by the wayside as you begin to think more along the lines of cleaning strategies.
It becomes one of those good news/bad news moments as you realize that the sunshine has revealed all these cleaning needs in the house which makes you know that your day is going to be a busy one filled with rags and brooms and and buckets of water and cleaning products instead of picnic lunches and outdoor fresh air….
Well, maybe you will still get a blast of that fresh air because the first thing you do on this day of awesome weather is to throw open as many windows as you can. What a great way to start the day - opening the windows and hearing all the sounds from the outside; feeling the warmth of the air as it passes through; the refreshing little breeze that occasionally feels like the outside is actually coming in. And even though you know there is a ton of work ahead of you, the open windows are literally a breath of fresh air that help to inspire you to hunt up those cleaning supplies you have been ignoring for so long. Opening up the window and letting in that outside air just seems to revitalize everything - including you!
So the good news of this impending cleaning marathon is that the sunshine that made you a bit sad as it illuminated all the mars on the floors and windows and furniture and helped you realize what you had put off for so long, also acts like a neon arrow that helps you see where the cleaning needs to take place. That sunshine is like a pointy finger that helps you locate the work that needs to be done instead of having to examine and search and maybe even guess where the needs might be. While the sunshine may disclose the problems, the sunshine also makes it easier to locate them and do something about it!
All of us have dirty fingerprints and smudges and dust as part of who we are. All of us have neglected the imperfections and the accumulated dirty corners and the stains within us. It is much easier for us to ignore these places inside of us that need a thorough scrubbing until a moment happens that acts just like a sunbeam highlighting those parts of us that we have tried for so long to ignore; we have worked hard to conceal what we know needs work and then, darn it!, the work we need to do in ourselves is illuminated and there is no choice but to deal with ourselves.
But that is when God will open the windows and send in the breath of his spirit and help us get out the duster and the broom and begin to work on cleaning up our lives; working on the dark places and the sin that beleaguers us and the baggage that has accumulated. With God’s spirit to help us, the soul cleaning will still take as much (or more!) work as cleaning our houses, but we know we won’t have to do it on our own and the help we have will know exactly where the work needs to be done!
Amen!!