Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within
me. Psalm 51:10
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
should wash one another’s feet. John 13:14
I recently purchased and moved into a townhome. Once I was moved and settled, I immediately
noticed an issue. A fixable but important issue. The walls were completely
covered in dirt and dust. Before my allergies settled in with me, I needed to
clean as soon as possible before I got sick. Vaulted ceilings didn’t make this
an easy task, but I washed the white walls, stroke by stroke. Along the way,
lessons came with each wringing of filthy water from the cloth.
Sometimes, I willingly inherit the filth of other people’s
choices. In this case, the transfer of a home. In life’s case: relationships. I
have a choice: I can do nothing and settle in to the filth and justify. “It’s
just part of the space. I don’t have time. Grey is in; I can live with this.” Their
neglect becomes my neglect and I end up getting sick – calling it “part of
life.” Or, I can move myself choose to clean what I can. My choice is to live
healthier in my own dwelling. I am not responsible for other people’s homes or
hearts, but I am responsible for the washing of my own.
Often we have no idea how filthy something is until we
clean. But when we start to wash away the filth, the beautiful white comes
through. We also have no idea the flaws that need to be fixed until we clean.
If we just cover them in filth, they are never healed – only infected. But when
we clean and repair – what greater living emerges!
One washing isn’t enough. The first stroke was to loosen the
filth. The second was to wipe it away with a clean cloth. Rinse, repeat. Line
by line, wall by wall. Then, maintain so not to gather dust again. I can’t stop
the filth from settling, but I can choose to keep clean. For a home, one can
hire a housekeeper. But for the heart, only I can wash away. I can have friends
and loves help, but ultimately, I have to move the water and cloth myself. If
not, neglect settles with the dust and I’m like the one before me: dwelling in
the grey of my own heart, which is always with me as my ultimate dwelling.
Cleaning isn’t expensive. It only cost time – which is more
costly than money to most. Again, someone can be hired – which can become
expensive. But if my choices prioritize my health and my heart over all else, I
will find life to be less expensive in repair and more rich in living.
Priorities determine the life.
I also moved from one dwelling to another. How did I leave
my last home for the next occupants? Granted, I wasn’t Merry Maids either, so I’m
not one to judge. But, I did have the help of others to objectively examine and
see what I needed to clean to present well. This spoke to how I affect other people.
How I choose to live may become so normalized to me, that I forget how I affect
others around me just by sharing space – for a short or extended time. How do I
leave those moments as legacies? Not legalistically perfect – sometimes life is
messy for all of us. But did I leave with my choice to wash proverbial feet
with a smile, a thank you, a word, a light? It flows from the heart – washed or
wounded.
I also learned this great truth: Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser is
one of the greatest things ever made. J
I am Clean. Click to hear Clean
