Cleaning for Christ

I am not a clean freak. This is no shock to the ones that know me best. I actually HATE cleaning! However, I thrive in a clean, and organized environment. I can't function when the house is messy. The cleaning process just doesn't come easy for me. I'd much rather sit down, play a game with the kids, or relax with a good book. While I am still not quite as "clean" as I would like to be, God has brought me a long way in this part of my life. When we were first married you could barely see the floor from all the "stuff". That's really all it was, stuff. I was a terrible housekeeper. I would have ran from articles like this: "Home is More Than Dirty Laundry"

My husband and I have been married for 9.5 years, and it wasn't until around year 6.5 that I really started to snap out of the slump I was in, and start taking care of my home. Scripture has a lot to say about laziness. "If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks." Ecclesiastes 10:18 "Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor." (Proverbs 12:24) "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." (Proverbs 6:6-8)The old and New Testament has plenty to say about laziness! Yet, taking care of our home, and staying on top of the cleaning, tending to the children...goes beyond productivity and staying away from being lazy. It's about serving Christ. WOW - ouch. That really hurts. If I am not doing my best in the home then I am not fullfilling God's purpose for my life. He has specific roles for men and women. Both are equally important in serving our Maker. Titus 2 tells women to be keepers of the home. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us that WHATEVER we do, we do it all for the glory of God. That is the scripture that really touches my heart, and the scripture I need to hear the most. In my cleaning, homemaking, training of children, and serving my husband, I am serving Christ. He has allowed me to stay home, and has blessed me with a home to raise my family in. A common thought among people is that stay at home moms lack socialization and education, or that we are slaves to our husbands barking orders, and becoming doormats to his demands. A Stay at Home Mom - is NEVER "Just a Mom". It's a calling that God has placed on your life. Embrace this calling with joy! You sacrifice your schedule, your time, your wants, your desires, your needs for your family - joyfully, because in doing so, you are serving Christ, and showing His love to your family. Please don't think that I am saying that ALL the cleaning needs to be done with a smile on your face, with excitement in your step, and with a love for cleaning, cooking, and training. Just joyfully serve Christ. If you remember WHY you are cleaning, cooking, and training, it will make those task much easier to handle because you are doing them for the glory of God. I am not there yet. I still battle, and kinda have a little temper tantrum in my head when once again the dishes are piled, and the toilets need cleaning - AGAIN. That song that I sang in Sunday school goes through my mind though: "He's still working on me, to make me what I aught to be. It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars; the sun and the Earth, and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient He must be; He's still working on me." Those words remind me that He's not done with me yet. If the cleaning doesn't come easy, or if you find yourself leaning toward laziness - don't be discouraged. Change - today! Step by step, day by day, pray for God to give you the strength to joyfully serve Him in your home.