Today I am Writing: On Getting the House in Order

This morning I awoke, and groggy went to the kitchen. As my coffee got itself good and strong I muttered around, putting dishes away, moving things from the table to their spot. I stepped out on the porch to see a strong wind had left it full of debris; I found the broom and cleaned it off. I stepped back inside to see that the rugs had a collection of their own going; I took them out and shook them down. I placed them in their places and saw that the whole kitchen floor was a pit of gloom and doom; I took the broom then to that floor too. And as I did, I thought "gosh and dang, I clean this floor a lot!"

And then I had an epiphany.

This time of year is typically when I organize my house. I purge, re-arrange, re-prioritize. Amazed at what collects, I clear out what is unwanted. I get things in order. Everything feels right and good again.

But even though my house is as organized as I can get, there remain get-the-house-in-order tasks that must daily be done, a daily sweeping out of the daily debris.

And the epiphany was: This is true of my house, but it is also true of my spiritual house.

There is One who helps me, who has diligently worked with me and those He has sent me, to get-this-house-in-order. And the work has been hard and the work has been thorough, and I have gotten good and strong. Yet every day I wake up and the grog of the debris clutters up my eyes, my mind, my very walking in the world.

I often just take this as my cross-to-bear, but this morning as I sweep my floor yet again, I realize that no: there's a daily cleaning to be done, a morning ritual of handing over my being to the One who makes me whole. I remind myself that there is an enemy of my soul who would like me to forget this, because never once does that enemy forget: The cross has already been borne, and Victory is already mine.

And so I take up my broom, my daily diligence. And in it, I meet the One who came up with the idea of Diligence in the first place. Together then, the House falls into place. Right and good all over again.