July 20, 2007

On the Surface

CJ was at camp. R was working second shift. Glorious time alone. I decided to do something that absolutely thrills me. Something I don't make time to do as often as I should.

I steam cleaned the carpets.

No particular reason. No spills. No stains. No pet disasters (which is wonderful, considering we don't have any pets). No detectable odors. Just my own need to get rid of all the hidden dirt.

As I finished each room, I emptied the tank full of water as black as midnight. I shuddered at the thought of my precious daughter's bare feet treading on this filth. How could I have let this happen?

My floors looked clean. In fact, when I mentioned to friends that I was going to steam clean, they insisted it wasn't necessary. I keep a fairly tidy home, and vacuum regularly. On the surface, my floors looked great. No one would have suspected what was hiding below.

Sound familiar?

When I don't spend time in the Word, in prayer, and in genuine worship, the dirt starts to accumulate in my heart. One transgression leads to another, and my soul begins to blacken. It is only when I allow the Holy Spirit to release His power that I am spiritually cleansed and renewed. On the surface, I am still a Sunday School teacher, a Deacon's wife, and faithful church member. On the surface, my life still looks fine. No hurts. No struggles. No one would suspect the filth that's lurking below. Only One knows. He isn't fooled by the mask I wear.


The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
-- 1 Samuel 16:7


He wants nothing more than for me to stop the surface cleaning and allow Him to go way down deep...penetrating my soul and changing my life forever. Only then will I be truly clean.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson,they shall be like wool." -- Isaiah 1:18

Melissa

6 comments:

Alana said...

Melissa, I just love your blog. It is a breath of fresh air. I always appreciate your words and attitude. Thank you!

Donnetta said...

What a great word picture! And what a wonderful reminder.

My coffee has just finished brewing and so I think I will head there myself... time to go "meet with my God". Time to make sure the dirt isn't building up.

Thanks for sharing this!

Betty's Loosing Race said...

What a wonderful thought and a neat way to think about our heart issues & cleaning!

Thanks for sharing!
~Betty~

Kate said...

Melissa,

Underneath the surface there is much work that God wants to do to make us more like Him. When we become satisfied with the outer appearance I think it leads to becoming judgemental. Your perspective is wise and God can do much with a heart like yours.

I have to admit that I am a little envious of your carpets that didn't need cleaning. Mine have the stains and smells and everything nasty. If I clean them today, they'll need it again next week. That's the way it is with five kids and one BIG BLACK FURRY dog. So...I put it off.

Kate

Unknown said...

Great thoughts! I came over for the giveaway, but I hadn't spent time here recently, so I'm staying a bit longer. I like your music selections, too.

I also got a Monk and Neagle CD and it sounds great, too!

Aunt Angie said...

I was reading some of the posts from "thankful thursday" and started reading on yours...I loved this post. It really spoke to me...the hidden things (we all have them). As I prayed this morning, I told the Lord, "I lay my heart out to you, open to see and fix all the issues---all the stuff I've been hanging on to". I imagined doing that with Him. So your blog post really touched me and affirmed what I prayed this morning.
Bless you for your encouraging blog! Do you mind if I post your site on my side bar?
Blessings to you and your family.