Clean

    Around this time of the year, I get a yen for cleaning top to bottom. It's the cooler weather that makes me think, "Oh crap, I'll be stuck in this house for the next several months, this place better be clean". I also tend to notice things that need to be fixed too. Our bathtub was designed to only be a tub to sit and bathe in. That didn't work for the Smerdell family. We like to be clean, rather then "Sitting in our own soup", as my dad would say. So before we moved in, Paul put in a shower head. It's not as aesthetically attractive as we would like, but it does the job till we remodel the bathroom this spring/summer. I noticed the edge of the tub wall at the bottom looked like it was deteriorating, so I brought it to Paul's attention. No fungus and ick in my house if I can help it. So, Paul went to Lowes, got the necessary items to fix it up but not put a bunch of money into the project or effort, so as not to hurt himself and waste money before we remodel. Done. I commenced in cleaning the bathroom, and scrub, scrub, scrub, I did.
    Ahh, nothing like a clean room to stand back and look at, for like a nano second, before it is messed up again. In the fall I think, clean up, and hunker down with extra food and supplies, just in case we are stuck in this house. In the spring I think, lets get outside and enjoy. Yes, I know, I am going to Florida to live this winter. However, I will be here in the cold for a while till we get to go to the lovely warmer, non snow filled bliss, of sand beaches. I can run away soon, but I want my home really clean because it's how I am wired.
    Do we do that with our lives too? God calls us to get rid of the dirt of sin. Fix what is broken and change into His likeness and image. He cares about what the inside looks like, more then the outside. He doesn't want a white washed tomb, as Jesus described the religious leaders of His day. God takes our structure then cleans and fixes it to be like new. He doesn't demolish and start over. He made the original structure and cares for it. When He is done, the polished masterpiece is revealed for all to see.
    So, I say, "get out the Brillo pads and scrub brushes, polish away, chisel off the icky dirt and scum of sin and show us what your masterpiece is God", cause that will last for eternity when clean.