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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Cleaning House


There has been a bit of work going on in our house the last couple of weeks. Young son has been home, we have had some big jobs that needed doing, he had some expenses that needed to be taken care of, (there were those car repairs) seemed like a win win situation for both.

The latest project was my pantry. I thought long and hard about this one, I knew if I asked him to do this, it would turn into a huge project (if I did it I would just straighten it out, I knew if he did it he would tear it apart)

I wasn't home when the project began but was receiving phones calls keeping me updated on progress and problems.

Question: Did you know that the shelves had pulled out of wall?
Answer: Yes, I had strategically placed water jugs to help support falling shelves years ago
Question: Can I take these shelves apart and fix them properly?
Answer: Sure
Question: Can you meet me at the hardware store?
Answer:Let me call your dad.

I met him at the store, discussed budget, plans, purchased needed items, I returned to work, he returned home. His parting comment, "now when you get home don't get upset"

This is only a small portion of stuff from pantry

I had been preparing myself all day, had a good idea of what I would see when I got home (I knew how much stuff was pigeon holed in that pantry) When I got home there were canned goods, bottles, boxes and cooking utensils covering every available table, counter top and most sitting surfaces. We had decided to reuse all that we could reuse so there was cleaning to be done. Any idea how much grime can collect on shelves? The cleaning took much longer than anticipated. Cooking was out of the question, my stove was buried, we grilled outside and ate dinner on the patio instead.

Son worked through the evening but was unable to get the job complete before bed. He made a statement about when cleaning, things can look worse before they look better.

Can't that be applied to our spiritual lives as well. When the Lord shows us a heart problem, sometimes things can look worse (as we begin to face our sin) before they get better. (when we go to the Lord and ask for forgiveness)


He did a great job

11 comments:

Petra said...

You have a wonderful son! Your pantry looks great! And yes, I like your 'facing our sin' analogy a lot. Blessings!

camp and cottage living said...

I sure wish your son was here to help me this week! He's so right about it looking worse before it gets better. That's my house right now too.

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Awesome work! I wouldn't trust my son with a hammer.

peace~elaine

Debbie said...

First, I think he did a great job! Second, when can he get here/

I'm "sonless" but I do have a lovely daughter who could bring him iced tea and a smile.

And third, isn't that the truth about things looking worse before they get better. I pray that is the plan for this economy.

Nancy said...

Can I borrow him for a few days? He did a great job.

Great analogy....we can get ourselves in a mess but God is always willing to come in and rebuild and make us all new....

Have a great day.

no spring chicken said...

Yes, he did do a great job. And so does the Lord. I'm just sure that that is what is going on right now in my life/heart. The Lord is cleaning out the pantry. It feels so messy, and I have an inkling what he is doing, but the we are still in the part of the process where he's saying, "can I meet you at the hardware store?" I know it's only going to get messier, but at least we will be moving forward. No more water jug supports for these shelves!

Blessings, Debbie

Farm Girl said...

It looks very, very nice. Isn't it nice having sons who know how to fix things? I bet you will enjoy having him around.

Nicole said...

That looks wonderful. So nice and organized!

Camille said...

Thanks for stopping by *my place* Maryann! How WONDERFUL your pantry looks...WOW!! Tell your son he did a great job. :) And...I enjoyed reading how he told you not to be upset when you got home and saw the *work in progress*. He is right...sometimes things do look worse before they get better. I liked your Spiritual application as well...a great analogy.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Blessings,
Camille

House Cleaning said...

It really looks nice. You should be proud that you have sons, who know what they're doing.

Marybelle Storz said...

Haha, it's always nice to have kids who can help with the cleaning and other house projects! Really, it does sound like a win-win situation for both of you. Nothing like a bit of hard work around the home and enjoying the finished product.