Here is a guest post from my friend and mentor, LaToya Seawood. This piece is called Messy Messes.
Happy readings!
As I child, I only ever remember cleaning my own room. Mom started us young doing things around the house. However, I am sure there was a time when she did clean it. Now, here I am years later with two young boys (ages 1 and 4) and I am cleaning their room. It's taken me a while before I realized that the mess doesn't go away by itself. Instead, it multiplies... and smells. And of the 4 of us in our family, I am the one currently responsible. The mess, however, is overwhelming! Where in the world am I supposed to start? I chose to start with the easy most obvious stuff, working my way up to the bigger stuff, the organizing, digging under furniture, dusting and vacuuming. It turned out to be a great activity. I cleaned up a few bio hazardous messes that were hiding, found lost items and set things right.
Cleaning is actually a great way to let your mind wander... I began to think about why I had let it get this bad. I also couldn't help but think about the connection between cleaning a messy room in my house and cleaning a messy room in my heart. We all know the mess is there but it can be so overwhelming to the point that it's easier to shut the door. No harm, right? However, let time pass and we start smelling, or someone gets hurt stepping on a lego in the middle of the night (figuratively speaking). So, where to start? There have been messes in my life so big that I can't begin to clean them up. I tend to approach it in the same way as my son's room, I take care of the most obvious things first. Then you run into the bio hazard and if I hadn't already, I start to pray. "Lord, what IS this? Where did it come from? Why is it STILL here? "The more you clean in this messy room the more you see. It is overwhelming. You do cry. But those who know who Christ is, also know His promises that when we give our burdens, our cares, our "WTFs" to the Lord, He will take care of us and He will not allow us to slip and fall (Psalms 55:22). I have learned that as hard as it is, I WON'T DIE from the cleaning process. But I could die if I let this mess, this sin, fester in my heart. I mean, it's only a matter of time before the dirty diaper stuck behind the dresser turns lethal, right? This is where I bring in the best Cleaner I know. Jesus knows where to start, where the hazards are and how to clean them.
Once the cleaning is done, it's time to figure out how to keep clean. The truth is, there is no easy way. And there is no real checklist. It takes commitment. I am going to have to stay committed to picking up the chaos everyday in order to prevent the bio hazards. Check in everyday. Put things in order. Pick up the items off the floor. Vacuum... I'm not talking about or looking for perfection. I'm looking for clarification. It can be done. I have seen it. I can do it. Eventually it will be my son's turn, and I will be the one to show him how.
Love, LaToya
