Sparkle

I love to clean. I have always been neat and tidy...I can hear my mom laughing right out loud because that is entirely untrue. I was quite a little piggy as a child! Seriously though, when I went away to college it was like the short circuit in my brain that hated to clean, somehow fixed itself. I became organized and sort of a neat freak. I say sort of because there are definitely times when that same circuit in my brain somehow comes loose and I have to rewire. In fact, that happened the other day. We had a long season of the flu in my home and as a mother, during times of illness it is all I can do to keep the kitchen clean enough for us to eat from! My husband, out of a heart of compassion asked, "Do you want me to call a maid?" Now, I know that he was being sweet, but something inside me sparked when he asked if I wanted someone else to clean my house. I think my desire to keep a tidy home returned because I am the one always telling people about great cleaning products and it would have been awkward to have someone else cleaning my house with products that I probably didn't approve of!

So, off I went to tackle my mess. As I did, it occurred to me that I clean my kitchen table at least twelve times a day and it somehow never stays clean. Now that I think about it, it seems like I clean most areas of the house over and over and over again. Every time I get one area completely clean, the area I just moved from is a mess again. In fact, it never fails, when I have just mopped the kitchen floor and I go on to do something else, someone ALWAYS drops something out of the refrigerator or their toast jam side down. Why is that?!

Out of my frustration with trying to KEEP things clean I have become a sucker for new cleaning products. I enjoy going to Target to wander down the cleaning isle. My husband usually makes sure before he comes with me to the store, that I am just doing a "quick trip." In other words, "You aren't going to wander aimlessly down the cleaning or make-up isle to read the backs of every bottle again, are you?" Bless his heart, I don't think he'll ever understand that part of me! I am always on the lookout for products that not only clean but help keep surfaces clean and products that make cleaning quick. By the way, there is a certain line of cleaning products that have teflon in them to help repel dirt...Don't waste your money.

I have found the miracle cleaning product that no home should live without. What is this gem of the cleaning world? The wonderful, remarkable microfiber towel. Now, several companies make these and I can tell you that 3M makes my favorite one! The towels come 2 to a package and the seam around them is different colors. The way they work is you wet one and leave one dry...so my pink is always wet and my blue is always dry. You DON'T need any cleaning product with these and they work on a number of surfaces including counters, sinks, mirrors, floors, you name it! All you do is wet one and clean the area and then use the dry one to shine to a sparkle! They are phenomenal. (I just like to type that word!) They work especially well on faucets because you won't have any waterspots! I just love them. Oh, did I mention that they are cheap? Just a couple dollars will get you 1 pack. Of course, I think that I have about 5 sets. They make cleaning a snap and they save me money on expensive cleaners...I can hear my husband shouting hallelujah! Remember if you do buy them to wash them separately and never use softener on them or you'll end up with more of a smear than a sparkle.

I really do love to work hard in my home. It is wonderful when my husband comes home to hear him say, "the house looks great, honey." The bible also tells us to work hard at something. "Work hard to show the results of your salvation" (Phil 2:12 NLT). In this passage of scripture, Paul goes on to tell the Phillipians to "obey God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him" (vs. 13 NLT) I don't know about you, but I need power. The next bit of this scripture is really, really tough. "Do everything without complaining and arguing" (vs 14). Well then, it seems like I work at this one as much as I clean the table in my house. Have you ever tried to go through a day, or sometimes 5 minutes without complaining about anything?? Wow! Paul continues, "Live CLEAN, (yea!) innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people" (vs 14 NLT). Cleaning goes beyond our homes. We are to keep our lives clean so that we too will sparkle to the world of unbelievers.

How is your house looking today? Do you need some microfiber towels?? How clean is your life right now? Is your sparkle more of a smear? Don't worry. Our God has something for that, it's called grace. No matter how messy our lives get, He is ready and waiting with His sanitizer and disinfectant. None of us on our own can keep our lives sparkling clean. You know that mess in your life that you keep trying to tidy up yourself? Give it to Him. That sin that is so awful you can't even look at it? Confess it to Him. God wants us to be clean and He alone gives us the power to live out clean lives. The cleaning power He has for us cost Jesus His life but it doesn't cost us anything but our willingness to surrender and keep surrendering! So hand over the products that you've been trying to use to make your life neat and tidy. Even microfiber can't clean our life messes, only Jesus can do that.