an orderly observation

when i first moved into my apartment, i got yet another the opportunity to create a new home for myself. my things had a place. my things were clean. my things were organized. then i began living there and dishes pile up in the sink, clothes get strewn around the bedroom, and dust seems to grow everywhere.

as a self-declared neat freak, i get some kind of giddy high from straightening, cleaning, and bringing order to things. i desire to restore my home to its original condition.

then the other day i stopped to think about what i was doing and i began to feel a bit of remorse for how much of my life has been/will be spent cleaning.

but all the cleaning? that's obsessive compulsive me. i enjoy it and am aware of the opportunity i'm afforded at this stage of life to be able to keep my home in order almost all of the time. (read: i clearly have too much time on my hands. also read: i understand and fully support others who have spouses, little people, other family members and friends dwelling in their homes and requiring their attention and that they prioritize time with them over obsessing about cleaning and ordering.) 

as i thought about the things i do over and over, week after week, it reminded me of what God does to us. He created us and gave us a place in relationship to Him. we were clean. then sin entered the world (and us) and we became pretty messy beings. 

but He offers to restore us. He makes our heart His home. and He cleanses His home; He washes us and gives us order, over and over again, each time we ask. and, unlike us, He doesn't weary or tire in doing so. He desires so much for us to be in that original condition that He sacrificed His Son so we will one day be as He first created us.

God delights in making us like new. have you asked to be cleansed today?