This Friday I am hosting a clothes swap at our apartment. Due to the size of our apartment in comparison to other people's dwellings, we usually do not host events here. Sure, we love having people over, but to cram 25 people in here is not ideal. Suffocation Station. But for this occasion I thought "Why not?". If we are aiming to simplify anyway, it should not be a big deal to swap some clothes in our living room. This means moving around some furniture.
You see, when furniture is nicely nestled in its spot for two years, little friends named Dusty and Bugsby love to camp out underneath. Then they invite their friends... Moth Wingly, Crumbalina, Shedded Hairin, the whole gang. They play and play, stick together, invite more friends until it's the biggest party under couch #3 this living room has ever seen. I have to admit, I have murdered their friends with a broom as they made their way to the party. I have even plotted a massacre of the actual sha-bang. But due to laziness, a list of other things to occupy my time while Asher is sleeping, and general distain for the posse partying under my couch, I had yet to make a move. However, today was the day. Sorry Dusty and Bugsby, but you have overstayed your welcome.
Once I recovered from the size of the hairballs (which I can in no way blame on our invisible pet, only our own shedding), the number of deceased insects, and the unidentifiable crumbs, I went to town sweeping and mopping. It truly is not a matter of me not deep cleaning in general. I value cleanliness even slightly above tidiness and am consistently scrubbing counters, dusting, etc to attain true cleanliness. Our apartment appears to be fairly put together. But sometimes you need to move the furniture to see the real mess. I cannot express how refreshing it feels to know that allergens are no longer hiding under our couches and there are no more bugs lurking in ignored places.
This is what I feel is going on inside of me right now. In the past month, God has been doing a deep, deep cleaning, moving aside the habits that have been nestled in place. He is revealing the gross sin that so easily crept in and grew over time. Reading the book "7" has challenged me to face my sin of over-consumption of most things in life, wastefulness, being disconnected from the poor, and not being a good steward of creation. When God pushed my daily routine to the side, I did not need a magnifying glass to see these hidden defaults. Although the first glance can be overwhelming, God has been gracious and patient as I pick up the broom and begin sweeping. But it doesn't stop there. There needs to be mopping, scrubbing, a resealing of the work he is doing. Unlike most times God begins to transform my darkness though, I am truly excited about this remodeling of my life. He did not use guilt, he used a sweet calling me over to a path of more abundant life. How can I not be excited?
I usually do not recommend books... mainly because when other people recommend Jesus-y books I intentionally do not read the book. Sinful and rebellious, I know. Working on that one and I will try not to be a jerk if you recommend a book to me. But seriously people, the book "7" by Jen Hatmaker has been challenging and hit close to home simply because I am a middle class American. Another confession besides my disdain for recommended books, is that I read the back cover of "7" and thought "Great, this will affirm how we are already living our life." So very prideful. Sure, some of the things Jen fasts from are not a huge struggle for our family. But other chapters I could not ignore the truth that I have been running away from. Thank you to my dear friend Lindsey for being thoughtful and generous in giving me this book, for God has used it to do a much needed cleansing.
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