Are You Washed?

Guests. Coming. Coming here. Tomorrow morning. My husband leaves tomorrow for his annual "guy trip. His friends are coming by to get him and that means I spend most of today cleaning. Just how I was raised. When company is coming, clean. They won't be here long, and the bathroom will be the room they see the most I imagine. However, after getting up at 4am (there's my excuse for these ramblings & deep thoughts) today and waiting on the second school bus to come, I thought I'd start the cleaning process while I still had energy.

I started dusting shelves. This is pretty monumental because I pride myself on high shelves simply so I don't have to dust often. But, one of the friends coming IS rather tall. Hence the need for dusting. After I'm done with the kitchen, I realize there are some splatters on the long wall in the kitchen. I better wipe/scrub those off. Nothing says "I never clean." like tomato sauce on the wall. As I spray the area down with cleaner & start scrubbing, I see more splatters & dirty areas further out. I keep wiping the wall. My arm hurts, my hand is cramping and I'm getting a little light headed. (this sinus stuff doesn't like it when you bend over) Surely there aren't more dirty areas...right? Man! Where did this stuff come from?! It doesn't help this wall is textured. I guess we did move in here 4 or 5 years ago. Hmmm, I don't remember cleaning it much since then. Except for the occasional, OBVIOUS splatter. Two kids in high chairs on this wall in that time. I gueeeesss I could see where it might accumulate some dirty areas in that amount of time. I'm shocked. Really. I've had people in here. Albeit very few, but still. Why hasn't anyone TOLD me how dirty this wall is!? You're right, I would have cried. Don't tell me. I keep scrubbing & scrubbing and there are just more & more areas that need to be cleaned off. Up, down, the light sockets, and plug-ins. By the time I'm done cleaning the dirty areas & splatters, the WHOLE, LONG wall received a cleaning. Wow.

While I kept scrubbing and wondering if my arm would fall off before my hand cramped up & stuck in that position, I was thinking. Life. Isn't it sort of like this giant, white, textured wall?
You go along happy & fine, living your life and then one day, there's some areas that need attention. No clue how they piled up like this. And who knows how long it took to happen. You don't really have time to look back at them ALL, just time enough to take care of a few things today. But then, once you start looking at those areas that need attention, you realize, ALL the areas sort of need a sorting out. They all tie into together to be one giant thing called LIFE.

So what if son#2 gets me up at 4am today? And that it seems to be an every other day occurrence anymore. Then there's son #1 who functions well in theory but really may need some medicine to help de-Monk-defy him so he can function with focus. The baby needs a physical therapist for his legs. We all need to see the dentist. Then there's hubbo who's making me a single parent this weekend by leaving town.

Acts 3:19 says: "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;" (New American Standard)