Well, I must confess. I'm that clean home mom. Yup. You can drop by my house any hour of the day and chances are....it'll be relatively clean, if not really clean.
My kids are living life. They are playing non-stop, they are getting homeschooled, they are creating and making messes and breaking things, spilling things, dropping things, throwing things, and building things. They are all over all the time. They eat without ceasing and leave trails of evidence even with my best efforts to teach cleanliness. All the while, I'm 'managing' my home, pursuing my writing dreams, teach classes at our co-op, studying, training for a half marathon, cooking, helping my husband recover from knee surgery...and I'm still cleaning.
You see, I'm doing the cleaning for two people...and only one physically resides in my home.
I'm that one. I'm the one who lives here and experiences the messes daily. But I'm also the one who feels peaceful when things are in order. I enjoy clean counter-tops, although they aren't always ready to be eaten off of. I enjoy a clean floor, or dusted furniture. I like to wake up to clean dishes in the dishwasher instead of dirty ones. I like empty laundry baskets, instead of full ones.
All those things done mean that I've had to ability to do them. I've been blessed with the health to be able to walk through a home and care for a family that an amazing God has provided. I get to wash the never ending loads of dirty clothes for three amazing boys that He has entrusted me with. I get to iron the wrinkly shirts of a husband who works with all his heart to provide for our amazing little family.
The other person I clean for is the Lord. Yes, I'm sure that sounds like a cliche but that's okay, because the Lord worked something amazing in my heart the first few years of parenting that has given me a fresh perspective on keeping our home clean.
Bottom line, I'm somewhat type-A, in fact I had a friend once say "You're type A+" I like order and cleanliness and so when I started having kids and staying home I figured it would be a cinch to keep the house clean, I mean I'm home so I've got all the time in the world.....
Have you ever heard that saying, "You're the perfect parent until you become one?"
Well. Reality kicked in when our oldest was 20 months old and we welcomed our second son. Then just 30 months later we welcomed another.
I used to allow frustration with things being out of order navigate my mood. Chaos and clutter don't mesh well with type-A. But the Lord in His kindness began to speak to my heart about the messes and the peace I felt from having a clean home. Just because things are physically in order in your home, doesn't mean they are spiritually in order in your heart. If having a clean home has become an idol then the value you ascribe to the clean home will supercede the value you ascribe to God. Our God is our provider, the giver of all gifts. He is the One who grants the ability to clean.
He provides the messes to clean and the ones who cause the mess. He is the One who made me, and gave me the personality that I have. So He is the One I must trust to marry my personality with His word to live a life that expresses His grace and love to those around me. He does all of it for a purpose.
As my kids entered the toddler years and I felt all I did was walk from one mess to another to tidy up, the Lord began to set me free from myself and my need to clean as a way to create a peaceful environment, and lead me towards trusting in Him to create the peace in our home. As Phil 4:7 says, "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
See then I was cleaning to create peace, now I clean as an act of gratefulness to the unseen resident of our home. The Prince of Peace. The Lord. The one who owns it all.
"For every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
The cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is Mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the world is Mine, and all it contains."
And everything that moves in the field is Mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the world is Mine, and all it contains."
Psalm 50:10-12
We receive our mail here, and we pay the mortgage note, utilities and taxes...but it's all God's. He is like the landlord, and we are the renters. My heart has transitioned from Type-A about cleaning to Type G. Grateful. Grateful for the three little warriors I've got living their lives in this place making the messes that I get to clean. The messes that as they age, they are learning to be responsible for and clean up so they can grow into mature responsible men one day.
So chances are, when you drop by my house it'll be clean. Not because I'm better than anyone. Not because my kids aren't living life. Not because I'm a control freak and can't handle things out of order. Simply because I want to live my life with an attitude of gratitude for the One who has done more for me than I could ever do for anyone else. I want to use what He has put into our care for Him, I want everything we have to be ready for Him to pick up and direct.
And if you have me over to your house and it's a mess...I won't care. Remember in the Word it says:
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." James 4:17
and
"One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind." Romans 14:5
I keep our home clean because of what the Lord has impressed on my heart, not because it looks good for others. When I see others with clean homes or others with 'messy' homes I am reminded of how infinite our God is in His creation. We are all unique. Which means though we possess similarities we are all different, and Praise Him for it!!
So as a clean home mom, I'd ask....don't come to my house and feel weird because it is clean and please don't think for a second you need to clean to have me over simply because my house is clean.
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