Matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers – Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Day #36 – Do I Do the Dirty Work?
I laughed when I read this post with today’s suggestion. I really did. Believe it or not, I did exactly this, yesterday morning. I did some spot cleaning in the bathroom yesterday before I left for work. Not unusual. I sometimes do this. Give a quick wipe to the surfaces in the bathroom. The sink, the toilet top. The mirror. But yesterday, I went the extra mile. The next step.
The bathtub was looking especially grimy. We had the older bathtub refinished last spring, and it looked amazing! But that was a year ago. With four growing and grown people using the bathtub in our condo on a regular basis, we quickly got the bathtub grimy. You know, with soap scum. (Gee, I feel a bit scummy, just thinking about it!)
As I gave the bathtub some swipes with the cleanser, using some elbow grease, I was gratified to see the bathtub come clean. (Or, at least, clean-er.) However, this is not my favorite-est chore in the world. Far from it!
I have a confession to make. My name is Elizabeth, and I am not the best at cleaning my house. It’s not that I live amidst piles of crap. I definitely do not live in a place with half-eaten food and other remains littered in front of the television! Heaven forbid. No! However, even though I have some ancestors who came from Poland, I did not inherit the Polish cleaning genes that some of the females in my extended family did.
(I can remember some of the grandmas, in the neighborhood of Chicago where I grew up, who kept spotless houses. One Polish grandma several doors down from our house even washed the garage floor. Imagine!)
I can clean. I even do a good job for other people! Like seniors, or shut-ins, or people who have just gotten out of the hospital. I honestly enjoy doing things for others. However, having a perfectly clean house is just not a priority for me. So, today’s suggestion gave me some pause. I definitely have some work to do in this area!
Dear God, thanks for giving me four working limbs so that I am easily able to clean house. Help motivate me to clean, more often. I mean, more often than I do, now. And thanks, especially, for giving me a heart to help out others! I know that’s important to You, too. As is often the case, You would like me to reach some balance. Help me work on that. Amen. So be it, Lord!
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