Saturday, November 17, 2012

Corners, Crevices, Cracks, and all of 'em Clean


Dear Ones:  It has been a busy week.  Do any of us ever have a week anymore that we can say is not busy?  I think there might be something wrong with that.   I am still struggling with my sinuses.  Finally went to the Dr. and got an antibiotic.

I am some better, but as LaRue's (sweet, dear friend of mine) mother used to say, "I am just putting up a good front."  Now, I just like to say that I get a lot done for a sick girl.  Truly, I am better.

I am overjoyed today.  It is again so beautiful here in Atlanta.  The brilliant colors of red, orange, green, brown, and yellow are everywhere.  The weather is not too cold or too hot, and most special of all, my mother flew in today to spend the next two weeks with me.

We will celebrate her 89th birthday the day after Thanksgiving.  Isn't that amazing?  Her mind is so clear (has always been brilliant), her heart is strong, and she had the strength and stamina to fly from San Antonio to Atlanta.  (Frank just walked by and said, "but she can't hear worth a ****," to which she said, "What did you say?"  All three of us laughed.)

We keep a pretty clean house, but we do clean extra for company.

Everything in the house felt so much cleaner after Frank and I pulled up rugs, pulled out the refrigerator and cleaned good behind, underneath, on top (whew, you talkin' about some kind of mess). It is eye-opening and nostril-challenging to pull out the refrigerator.  There is no tellin' what you will discover.  As many ice cubes as I have kicked under there, I don't know why there wasn't an igloo in the corner.  LOL

While the house might not look any cleaner than normal to anyone else, Frank and I knew we had cleaned every corner, crevice, crack and in between.  We had such a great sense of accomplishment.  It felt good to be the right kind of stewards of what the Lord had given us.

I remember that we cleaned very thoroughly one evening.  The next morning, the sun showed through the large uncovered windows in the living room and dining room, revealing a lot of dust and crumbs we had missed.  We were actually amazed at how much we had missed.  The problem was, we were cleaning without enough light.  Things looked really good because we couldn't see everything with just the room lighting.

The bright light of the morning sun revealed every little particle of dust, every crumb, every single smudge on the front of the refrigerator or stove top or hardwood floors.  Nothing escaped its rays.

My mind and heart went immediately to this manifested truth in God's Word.  The knowledge and application of His word to my life is a "lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."  (Ps 119:105).  Unless I ask the Lord to "Search me and know my heart," (Ps 139:23) I will have crumbs, smudges and dust particles of sin left on the shelves of my soul; the kind that can come between my soul and my Savior.

His search is precise, cuts through the clutter; it penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the thoughts and intents of my heart. Hebrews 4:12.  So, when I really want to be right before the Lord, I choose the light of His Word, not a facsimile of it.

When I try to search my own heart, I tend to compare myself to others in order to determine if what I am doing is right or wrong and to justify anything I might find.  My sweet Lord Jesus clearly tells me that is not wise.  II Cor. 10:12.

The only reason I would shun His search is that I am afraid of what He will find, ashamed of my failures and bringing dishonor to Him.  What I must remember is that He already knows them; when I ask Him to reveal them to me, I will know them.  Then I have the wonderful opportunity of claiming His forgiveness.

Let me just say this.  In my walk with the Lord, when I have felt like I was doing "pretty well,"  I was not comparing myself to Him.  "Pretty well" never enters the mind of a believer who is truly walking in the presence of God. It is more akin to "humbled and undeserving, but grateful."

I wonder why I am content with the crumbs, dust, and dirt of this world, when I can have His resurrection power available to me because my heart is clean and pure before Him.

When I was thinking about the brightness of the sun, sometimes so bright, it hurts my eyes, I remembered how overwhelmed I was the first time I heard that Heaven would have no sun or moon because the glory of the Lord would outshine both of them.  Isaiah goes so far as to say that not only would the sun and moon not shine, but that the moon would be abashed and the sun ashamed to even try to shine in the presence of the glory of God.  (Is 24:3)


Oh, how thankful I am for the truth and living power of God's Word and His glory that flows from it.  The gift my mother and daddy gave me of ensuring I heard and memorized God's Word has been deep, priceless, and enduring.  It has been a drink for my soul in times of thirst, a source of peace in times of fear, a fortress when I needed courage, and always a light in times of darkness.

Now, I make it a point to really clean when the sun is shining.  It reminds me of the love of God, His power to show me my mistakes and redeem them as I walk in the light of His Word.  How about you?

I am approaching this and every day with joy.  Love and miss you all.  Mecca



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