Have you done your summer cleaning this year? As a child, I remembered hearing ladies speak about doing their spring cleaning and their summer cleaning. I didn’t know if there were certain tasks they only did that time of the year or if they only cleaned once a season. In my case, we’ve been gone so much this summer I feel like the latter would apply. As we’ve blown in and out of town, I’ve cleaned the surface areas and have tried to keep the house clear of clutter, but honestly have hardly been home long enough to get the laundry turned around let alone do the deep cleaning my house so desperately needed. Last week I decided everything else had to come to a screeching halt, because the house had to have some attention. I spent one day cleaning upstairs and one day cleaning downstairs. It felt great to finally have my house in order.
As usual, God took this opportunity to teach me something similar from a spiritual perspective. Our lives get busy without us even trying to make them so. We tend to meet ourselves coming and going with things to do and hardly even have time to slide into a pew at church let alone build an intimate relationship with Jesus. We can keep things looking okay for a while, but eventually, we have to deal with our dirt or it begins to show.
God created us in His image [Genesis 1:27]. He Himself is a God of relationship. Just look at the Trinity. He created us for relationship with Him and others. However, we won’t have a relationship with any depth to it, if we don’t carve out time with the Lord. If we want to be like Jesus, then we have to do what He did and He put a high priority on intimacy with the Father [Mark 1:35]. How can we possibly hear the whisper of His voice, if we are still before Him to listen [1 Kings 19:12, Psalm 46:10]? Just like it took time to do the deep cleaning in my house, it takes time to do a deep cleansing of the heart [Psalm 51:10].
Take a look at your schedule for today. Which of those things will have a strong impact on your life in 10 years? 10 days? Taking time with the Lord each day will impact eternity, not just in your life, but it could also impact the lives of those you live life with and encounter throughout your day. It’s time to do some summer cleaning. Why don’t you find a quiet place and get started?