As a Clean Freak and author of the e-book secret confessions of a clean freak - I can tell you - it's the results of housecleaning that are spiritual. A clean home feels better. Plus, you have the pride in a job well done. It's all positive - calming.
Housework left undone is very negative. A constant reminder of things you haven't done. I feel good when my bathroom walls or my stove is shiny. It makes me feel like I have control. And sometimes, that's all I have control over.
And, like all things spiritual, it takes discipline until it becomes habit. Housecleaning is a breeze once you have it under control and you have a routine. Really! I'm a single mom and I get picked on all the time for being too clean - like I have some disease! Guess I'm just a freak! author unknown.
Well, I wouldn't call this author a freak. I know from my own experience that a messy house makes me feel worse than usual and irritable. The trouble for me is getting the energy to do it. But the results of housework certainly are spiritual!
I have known a Christian woman who was part of our home bible group many years ago. Her place looked like a hurricane had struck it. Ants marched along the floor to dine and pillage her overflowing trash container in the kitchen. There wasn't a clean cup or spoon for after the study's fellowship cuppa.
We all cleaned it up so that the ladies who came would be more comfortable, but by the next week it was just the same. Instinctively, we knew that housework is spiritual and that we would not be able to focus on the Word sitting in filth. Filth is not conducive to worshiping God.
These days I am limited in how much I can clean and it often is a source of dismay to me that I can't do as much as I would like. When I do have the spoons (energy) to clean, the results lift my spirits so much that I have to conclude that housework is spiritual. Blessings as you sacrificially set the spiritual tone in cleaning your home.
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27
My entire perspective on housecleaning changed years ago when I heard a speaker draw the connection between housework (putting things to rights) with the imitating of Christ's work as He put the world back to rights after sin had entered in. Pretty neat way to reflect God's redemptive plan in our everyday lives, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteVisiting from Worth Beyond Rubies link up :-)
Oh Marty, I love that! What a great analogy! Thank for sharing a cuppa with me! Blessings, Glenys
DeleteJust the smell of "clean" makes me feel uplifted. Not the author, not a clean freak, but I do appreciate when my home is clean :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I hear you, Joanne. Nothing beats the smell of clean especially clothes that have been sun dried. Thanks for taking tea with me. Blessings, Glenys
DeleteYes and amen. Our work in the home is an offering to our family and to God.
ReplyDeleteand for those of us with chronic illness, it is a sacrificial offering. We sacrifice our comfort for those we love. Thanks for taking tea with me today, Michele. Blessings, Glenys
DeleteHoԝdy! I'm at work surfing arоund your bⅼog from my new iphone!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say I love reading your blog and look fowɑrd tto all your poѕts!
Kеep up the outstanding work!
Thank you.
DeleteHelⅼo, just wanted to tell you, I loved thіs blog post.
ReplyDeleteIt was prаctical. Keеp onn pߋsting!
Нi there, I log on too your blog daily. Your story-telling style is witty, keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteI have been working almost fulltime recently and our house is nowhere near as clean as usual :( Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama
ReplyDeleteSweet Laura, between working hard and raising your children, looking after your husband and then yourself, I think the house can be a tad neglected. You are following God's divine order in that. I appreciate your sharing cuppas with me. Thanks and blessings, Glenys
ReplyDeleteAwesome post.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
Delete