Friday, April 23, 2010

Spring Cleaning


Whether you are in transition by choice or by circumstance, seasons change and you must clean away the old to deal with the new.

Yesterday I spent some time in the yard cleaning away the refuse from the driveway & flowerbeds. It was a peaceful quiet time and of course there was a lesson that God had there waiting for me.

As I got out the lawn bags and looked for the rake, dustpan and broom I was real excited about getting the front of the house clean. I didn’t spend as much time out there last year and it showed. I vowed not to do that this time. I tossed all visible garbage first…the yard lights that no longer worked, the paper and wrappers left there by kids, the empty containers and bottles. It looked better already.

Lesson #1 get what you KNOW is out of order, out of the way first. By doing do so things may look a little better and it will encourage you to do more.

There was much to do and much God had to teach me. I begin to rake out the flower bed area and although we had beautiful mulch there last year it was now cluttered with leaves, pinecones and weeds. The more I raked the more I unearthed what should not have been there.


Lesson #2: If you stay on the surface things may look pretty, but underneath you will find much that should not be latched onto your life. You have to take the time and energy to dig into you to fix errors, edit relationships and take care of yourself to move to the next level. What was beautiful last year or last season…or 10 years ago, needs to be moved out of the way so you can see what you really have and have become.

Soon, I had little piles of leaves and garbage all over the driveway. As much as I had done, there was still more to do. The sun had set, the few people that were outside had gone back in. It was getting dark and cooler. My nose was cold and it was getting harder to see, but not impossible. My first thought was to stop, go in the house for coffee and finish another day.

Lesson #3: Just when you are about to advance, complete a project, lose the last 5 pounds, stop a habit..THAT’s when it gets hard. You will look up and noone will still be on the road with you. It will not be as easy to see how you will get it accomplished but don’t quit. If you leave it, it creates more work later. If you leave it, your health will deteriorate, or your habit will cost you more. So back to my yard….If you leave it the kids will kick the piles and you’ll have to start all over.

So in the waning sunset, I finished cleaning up the piles, swept the yard clean, put the bags and rakes away and breathed a sigh of relief with a smudge of pride that I endured until the end.

Then I begin to dream again…what flowers I want for this year…how I want the fountain area to look… paint for the porch…a re-do of the stairs and repaving the driveway. All of a sudden, I could see what I didn’t see before…a realm of new possibilities.

The last lesson…well..I assume you can see that for yourself now can’t you?

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