The dust bunnies on the PBS show "Big, Comfy Couch" are quite cute. They emit little squeals. They have adventures with whatever Loonette the Clown drops beneath the couch. I like the little guys. But in my house? I don't like dust bunnies!
A couple of years ago, we started having our two boys help with household chores. The oldest gets to do the vacuuming; the younger, the dusting. Now there must be a disclaimer here. As I said, I don't like dust bunnies in my house. But that doesn't mean there aren't any! It just means I don't like them!
I have shown the boys many, many times how the vacuuming and dusting process should go. I have demonstrated how to use the vac hose along the edges of furniture and walls. I have shown step-by-step how to remove items from furniture, dust under them, then return said items to their proper places. However, it seems that there will still be spots left un-vacuumed or un-dusted...
But you know, there comes a time when a mom just needs to take a deep breath, a step back, and let them do their best. It's not easy. Especially when company is coming. I don't want them to think I was the one that left that patch of dust on the coffee table! I don't want them to think I am responsible for the clumps of dust bunnies behind that door! Honest truth is, most people probably don't notice/care. The important thing is that I know the boys are doing their best.
I think that's what God does with me, too. There are things He has shown me or spoken to me about over and over and over...and yet I still leave things "not quite" as He would have them. I also think that, as a loving Father, He sometimes just takes a step back and lets me do "my thing". Will I rush through prayer and leave a dust bunny lurking in the corner of my soul? Will I rush through Bible reading and miss that wonderful gem He had for me today? Or will I do my best, and try to show Him I really have been listening?
I'm hoping that as my boys grow and mature, they will have more desire to see things around the house neat and clean. That they will have a pride (in the right sense) of knowing they have done the cleaning thoroughly: the pride of a job well done.
As I continue to grow in the Lord, it is my prayer that I will leave fewer "dust bunnies" each time. That I will do my best to take the tasks [God gives me] seriously. That I can stand before Him one day and hear, "Well done."
Loonette's dust bunnies may be cute, but I don't need any in my spiritual house!
2 comments:
What an excellent post.
Thanks for the reminders. It's easy to either be too easy on ourselves and think it doesn't matter to God, or be too hard on ourselves and think we must be perfect. I think this is a great perspective.
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