“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”
-Psalm 51:10
Did you grow up in a family that did spring cleaning? I’ll admit, I’m not the best housekeeper, so it comes as no surprise that I’m not much of a spring cleaner. I always have the best of intentions – dusting light fixtures, rotating our mattress, washing the window screens, etc. But spring weather is the best weather of the year – so it just calls me to get outside to go hiking and biking or to sit out on the porch with a delicious beverage in my hand.
Treasures on the Point, our Algiers Point Porch Sale is schedule for the second weekend in April, and our church will be participating on Saturday, April 10th. Which for many people means it is time to go through things in their home – time for some spring cleaning.
Spring cleaning means cleaning those parts of our homes that we don’t often clean. But what if we applied that same idea of spring cleaning to ourselves? A spiritual spring cleaning, if you will. Because our spiritual beliefs are the foundation that aligns all of our core values in life. What if we looked for the places in our lives that might need a little more attention, a little more time, a little more care?
We are all in different places in life and capable of tackling different things. Maybe for some of us, we need to tame our tongues by trying to get rid of talking negatively about people or ourselves. Some of us need to focus on a particular relationship in our lives that is struggling at the moment – putting in time and love and attention with that person even if they wear on us. Maybe for others it is trying to manage your finances so that you can be a better steward of what you have been given by trying to tackle debt or excessive spending in order to be more generous. Or perhaps it is taking care of your temple – making sure that your body is getting the rest, healthy food, and movement that it needs in order to allow your soul and your relationship with God to flourish.
So this spring, regardless of whether or not you get around to doing any extra cleaning at your house, I hope that you will take a moment to think about what areas of your spiritual life could use a little more time and attention in the coming days and weeks.
Grace and peace,
Rev. Colleen
