Modern Day Samaritan Woman

Housekeeping / Time to Declutter

The time has come to perform some serious housekeeping. The end of one season, bringing on the beginning of a brand new season so it’s time to throw out the old and bring in the new. Time to clean up and declutter the soul and as I gather my Holy Ghost Vacuum Cleaner, The Word Polish, My Forgiveness Dusters and other necessary items I am preparing to dig in and do some serious housekeeping. 

I start in the bedroom of my soul. The place that is sacred and private and usually not seen by anyone bar my very closest loved ones. As I begin the task of cleaning, moving furniture and vacuuming, I discover plenty of things that must be discarded.  Words that were carelessly uttered that left a dusty layer on the floor. Hardly visible but when a slight breeze blows; the words return to mind and hurt all over again sometimes long after the utterer of those words has departed and forgotten the incident.

In another corner of the room words and actions that were uttered in anger and committed in indifference, are found concealed in the corner. Why do we insist on hoarding these things? The Forgiveness Dusters have work to do.

Wiping down walls I find faint shadows of pain and heartbreak, the causes thereof no longer so well-defined yet, as I trace my fingers over their contours, I can remember the devastation and hopelessness that accompanied them.

As I dust the paintings, a smile lingers on my lips, as the smiling faces of precious, irreplaceable loved ones stare back at me reminding me that life is beautiful and that my connection with them is eternal, regardless of time and space and distance.

Moving now to the drawers I find snippets of broken dreams and plans scattered all around. Loyalty, abandonment, joy, disappointment, pleasure, hopelessness, forgiveness, failure, accomplishment, all jammed into the drawer vying for space among the other necessities like self-esteem, competency, ability and strength. I sit on the bed as I sift through these things. Keeping the good and discarding the rest. Some bringing a small smile to my face, as I remember the warmth or the love that accompanied an almost forgotten failure. The loving hugs that accompanied disappointments and tears. Others releasing sharp pangs pain that are quickly discard into the bag of garbage at my feet. No use fretting about things that cannot be changed.

Finally, I polish the ornaments and oddities on display. Those quirky, eccentric items that make my personality my own.  The love of animals and plants. The irrational fear of heights. The instance of gathering and collecting every single small pebble I happen to see.

The mess I am cleaning up is not all my own. 

As I have permitted people into my heart and life, they moved in and left their marks within my soul. That’s what living is. Opening up to others and being vulnerable.

“Permitting people access to the deepest recesses of the soul, knowing they will sometimes leave more than footprints and fingerprints behind.”

Some of these people remained in my heart and soul, but so many others have long since moved on.

I linger for a time at my dressing table polishing my jewellery box, picking up and admiring the contents. Shaped like a treasure chest, it contains my most treasured and valuable memories. The birth of my two children, emotional and exquisite, (who could have known that one person could love another tiny person so very much), the poignant memory of the warmth and reassurance of my husband’s hand as he loving placed it on my shoulder. The piercing blue eyes, that stared at mine when we said “I do”…containing a promise larger than life…The spontaneous laughs and jokes shared between my step son and I…

I run my fingers over the unbreakable shiny chains that bind my heart to so many others…priceless and beautiful… requiring real living and loving to obtain.

My treasure chest is filled with beautiful things but I have no time to tarry here. There is work to be done and I have only just begun, so closing my jewellery box I move on to the bathroom.

This is the part that needs serious attention. The room where cleansing and grooming is performed. In the shower, I wipe down my toiletries and read the labels as I do, FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY, and I recall how these toiletries have served me well. Cleansing me of self-doubt, hopelessness and selfishness, after the enemy of my soul had tried everything to corrupt my soul. 

Sometimes these toiletries have been all I have had to free me from unbelief and hopelessness, so these will be remain my brand forever. No changing of brands for me. I will purchase my toiletries where purchases cannot be made with cash.

Every single mirror must be polished well, so that my reflection will be clear, reflecting the Lover of my soul from within me. Reflecting the light of the Word…Only the fruit of the spirit, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control must reflect from these mirrors of mine.

As I sweep and mop the floor of my bathroom and scoop up the remnants of discouragement and discard them, I am ready to move into my kitchen.

In my kitchen I stop a while to ponder my pantry. I study the food that nourishes versus the food the merely fills. I decide to discard that which merely fills and stock up on the food that nourishes my spirit and strengthens my resolve. I wipe the counters clear of the crumbs of quick compromises and easy solutions. I sweep up distractions and scraps of irrelevance and they too are thrown into the garbage.

The stove is polished clean and ready to prepare wholesome meals to sustain the soul through famine and drought.

With cupboards tidy and kitchen sparkling I move into my living room. This is the room that my invited guests are brought into. As I lift cushions from settees, I find crumpled papers of discontentment and irritation. How did they end up there? I look up and notice that I am not alone. The Lover of my Soul, my Comforter is right here with me, sleeves rolled up and helping me clean up house. Glancing at me and smiling, reassuring me that between us we will do a good job, and be done in no time at all.

We barely speak as we work and dust and move furniture; but every now and then we smile at one another and His eyes draw me closer and the warmth of unconditional love and acceptance wash through my soul.

My living room is soon hospitable and tidy and all discarded papers, scraps of lint and dust are soon cleared. My Holy Spirit vacuum cleaner quickly vacuums all the traces of dusty intrusive footprints and unwelcome advances of the enemy.

There is now only one more task to perform and my housekeeping will be done. This is left for last because this is the dreaded dirty laundry… With my beloved Comforter at my side we face the piles of laundry together.

“How did the piles get so high?” I wonder aloud.

Garments of judgement “So many of them”

Disappointment and Gossip. “When did I wear them?”

Slander and Anger. “Why did I put them on?”

Failures…”too many to wash…”

As we near the bottom of the piles of laundry my Comforter, hands me my Garment of Praise “Oh this is where it was…”

I laugh when we come across my garments of salvation and robe of righteousness “When last did I wear these?” and “oh they fit so perfectly, how could I have forgotten them?” I clearly remember how much I loved them.

We have reached the end of the pile and most of the garments are discarded into the huge garbage bag. Not even fit for charity, they will be burned.

As I twirl around delighted at finding my beautiful garments discovered from the ashes of past failures my eyes fall on the armour of God, hanging unused on the hook behind the door of my laundry. “How on earth did I expect to stand up to the enemy without my “belt of truth, blouse of righteousness, shield of faith and shoes of preparation to spread the Gospel of Peace? Not to mention my Hat of Salvation.”

My trusty Sword of the Spirit standing ever ready in the corner.

In the corner of the laundry is one more laundry basket containing the repairs. The garments that mean too much to me to just discard because they require repairs.

My “loving wife garments”, my step mom hat, my dreams and hopes for the future were all packed in there tattered, unravelling and in need of repairs.

The Comforter takes the basket lovingly from my hands and tells me…

”I will handle this pile for you…I will make the necessary repairs… the broken zips and buttons… The unravelling hems …Trust Me!!!

Nothing is impossible for Me”

My housekeeping completed for now. All the dust and dirt that held me back discarded, my soul is at rest and my future secure in the loving Hands of My Jesus…My Saviour…

We sit down and share a piping hot cup of tea together, tired but comfortable in the silence that follows knowing that we will perform these tasks over and over again until it’s time for me to join Him, in the house He has prepared for me.

John 14: 1- 3

 “Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently]in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and]believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.” (AMP)

When last did you do housekeeping? There is no time like the present…

*Hugs* till next time.

Ariéte