Spring Cleaning of Your Heart

As early blooms explode color into my landscape, I can’t help but notice the flower beds that need cleaning after winter’s storms. Old leaves, twigs and dead plant materials need to be removed for the beauty of this year’s plants to be enjoyed.

Traditionally we clean our homes after the long winter months, though I have adopted more of a seasonal approach to this thought of “spring cleaning.” I like to clean for each season. In spring we need to remove the dusty feeling of being closed up in the house for too long, and for summer, well to be honest, just enough cleaning to get by – I have too much to do outdoors!  

But if we get away for a summer vacation, the house needs a good cleaning when we return, as cobwebs seem to form when the house is still and silent. Fall cleaning is a good time to catch-up after a busy summer of outside work and activities, and before the big Christmas holiday decorating I like to clean and dust and make the house sparkle and shine before the glitz and glamour is added.

Spring cleaning is in progress here in my home, and yesterday as I shook a small throw rug outside I remembered the days of old when large area rugs were hung up outside in the spring and beaten to remove a winter’s worth of dust. 

I imagined children squealing as clouds of dust were beaten out of the rug, and how dirty those children (or housewives) would feel after beating and breathing in the dust of the floor debris after a winter season. I was thankful I had only that little rug in my hand.

 

All this cleaning has gotten me to wondering if I need to do some spring cleaning in my heart. Is it time to take a deeper look and imagine the debris that clings to my spirit and makes me heavy-laden? What can I do to release these old hurts and the disappointment of unfilled expectations?

The best answer I have is to pray. God knows me inside and out. He knows my dreams and my wishes and my capabilities. He knows where I’ve failed and where I’ve fallen. He sees me as I struggle with acceptance of my situation.  Only God knows my fears and my hopes. And only His love can bring me peace.

So I will pray. I will ask God to clear out the cobwebs of uncertainty and wipe the dust from my eyes so that I can more clearly see the blessings in my life instead of the burdens I carry.

I will ask for His help to release my heartache and let it blow away like dust in the wind. Just as fresh linens drape the mattress, His peace covers me in fresh perspective and serenity. I must remember to always be grateful for the gift of God's presence in my life.  

Without knowing Him, I would not know peace. Without knowing His presence in my life, I would flounder and succumb to the waves of despair that threaten to drown me.

God is my Hope. My prayer is for Him to be with me always. And I pray that you would know Him intimately and know His peace.

Search yourself. Do a little "spring cleaning" and ask God to show you places in your heart that harbor old hurts or suffering that should be released. Let them go, and allow the winds of change to blow freshly upon your life. We would all do well to take up a little spring cleaning of our hearts, and begin again anew.