My friend Judy keeps a clean house filled with carefully
chosen paintings and crafts, including her own art quilts. One day, as I stood
in her white kitchen overlooking her backyard flowers, I noticed her spotless
refrigerator as she opened the door to get ham for our lunch. “How do you keep
your refrigerator so clean?” That morning, I’d cleaned half a dozen spots of
dust and spilled food on mine.
Setting the lunchmeat on the counter, she said, “I wipe it
down every day.”
“Oh, every day?” I didn’t say it, but I thought, whether it
needs it or not. That’s the secret of maintenance, isn’t it? A schedule. We
have a plan for preventative maintenance. Rather than reacting to the spots on
the refrigerator as I see them, I could decide to start wiping it down every
day when I cooked dinner. If I wanted a spotless refrigerator, I needed a different plan.
I enjoy the cleanliness in Judy’s house, but not enough to
adopt her plans. But it’s a lesson to me about a clean life. I need to read the
Word, converse with Papa-God, and take time to meditate on his goodness. I must
plan, everyday, to walk humbly beside him. A clean life requires maintenance.
While I like clean appliances, I love a clean life. Don’t
you? Isn’t it wonderful when we feel in touch with God’s mercy; when we notice
his everyday provision; when we feel his love because we have spent years
soaking in his Word? If that’s never
been your experience, don’t wait for him to point out the spots. Make a plan to
maintain a humble walk with him and ask him for grace to walk the plan.
Papa, please strengthen our desire for a clean, humble life.