Those Things That Are Hard To Clean

Clean out the garage. Clean the stalls. Clean the truck. What's your least favorite thing to clean?

Growing up we had a cleaning lady. Following her around taught me a multitude of cleaning methods. She was very thorough. It would be hard to say what her least favorite thing to clean was. She cleaned EVERYTHING. Top to bottom. Polished the paneling, waxed the floors, vacuumed the closets. It seemed that nothing was hard for her to clean.

We didn't have anyone to clean the stalls besides us. I didn't really mind doing it then, but yesterday I was really wishing someone would come up with a way to potty train horses. However, cleaning stalls is still not my most difficult chore.

As I go through my cleaning days I'll see things that I hadn’t noticed before.(especially when I wear my glasses...) Enter a room enough times throughout the day and the light will change there, the sun may hit on different area that stands out where it didn’t before. Dust bunnies appear where they surely weren’t five minutes ago. Dog hair settles where you just polished. It's a bit maddening.

One day I noticed tiny finger prints on the tile just beneath the light switch in my bathroom. I remembered my grandson, telling me in his little voice, “I can’t reach!” and my great-nephew, asking me to turn on the light for him as he stretched, reaching juuuussstt almost high enough to switch on the light. Next time he won’t need me. He will be even more independent when he’s at my house again, and he will be able to turn the light on all by himself. He’ll be sure to turn it right back off as well. He’s responsible like that.

One afternoon as I was dusting my room I picked up a picture of my husband and me. It's my favorite picture of us that was taken when my first grandchild was just 4 weeks old. There was a smudge on the glass and as I went to clean it off I realized it was a sticky lip imprint. A little lip gloss kiss. My precious granddaughter had kissed this picture of us and I just couldn’t make myself clean it off.

Those are hard things to clean. Finger prints on the windows. Nose prints on the mirrors. Kisses on the photos. I'll scrub the tub and clean the oven, but I have a hard time cleaning off Love!

Jesus is like that too. When we make our lives messy He doesn't wipe us away, He offers to make us clean. I'm refreshed knowing that He's there for me no matter what mess I get myself into. I just have to ask. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The hardest thing for me to clean? That's a tough question. It's easier for me to answer the easiest thing for me to clean. And I go about doing that every single day.