Cleaning House

Preparing for Christ to come makes me want my house in order. Not just my physical home but my soul home.

Today is house cleaning day for me. In my youth, Mom insisted that we clean the house every Saturday in preparation for Sunday, our day of rest. We also would go to confession on Saturday. You can see the connection, I am sure. I helped mom clean up the house, and then I took time to clean my soul from my sins at the confessional. The ritual has stayed with me.

Saturday is my day to prepare my house so that I can rest on Sunday. I have changed my Saturday confession time to a daily and sometimes hourly ritual of asking forgiveness for my sins. I do not need a priest to confess my failures because Jesus is my priest. He washes my sin stains away.

In these days preparing for Christmas I dig a little deeper into my cleansing routine. As Christmas decorations go up, the hidden corners reveal their dust and dirt. I believe it is Gods' way, that as I seek to put on the Spirit of Christmas, He reveals the dust and dirt on my soul. Both clean up jobs need to be attended to so that I can enjoy my celebration.

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord" was the cry of the prophet. How do we prepare for Jesus Christs' coming this Christmas or when He comes again in glory? We must prepare our hearts with His forgiveness, and maybe even make sure our house is clean in case He sends angels ahead of His coming and we are to entertain them.

Glorious Lord, You wash us white as snow! We cannot prepare our lives for Your coming without You! I have many places that need to be cleaned up in my life. Thanks for forgiving me and washing them clean. If You send an angel to visit my home tonight, it will be clean and I will be ready. Tomorrow I will worship You with a clean heart and a mind seeking after You. I expect our time together will be sweet!