It's that time of year again.The time of birds singing their joyous songs of praise each morning as dawn creeps silently into town as if on little cat's paws.Of flowers waking from a long wintery slumber under dark,rich earth.The season of sunshine yellow daffodils.Regal looking purple crocus.And cotton candy pink cherry trees.It's also the time that we as humans often begin the annual ritual of spring cleaning.We clear out flower beds so each delicate beauty can shine in all it's God-graced glory.We remove the last bits of the previous Autumn's dead and decayed leaves.Or maybe we attack that closet that sits awaiting our attention.We open it's door and shine light on things long hidden inside.We rifle through piles of old magazines,outgrown clothes and photos desperately needing to be in an album.And we give away or throw away or organize these things long past their usefulness.Things we don't need.Things that are no longer serviceable to us.I did just that very thing this week.And it felt good.Though our calendar shouted that spring had officially arrived recently the weather outside was singing a much different tune.Skies were leaden and pored rain,then hail,then snow.Then the sun would shine.And it was cold.It was as if winter did not want to release it's icy grip on our little part of Oregon.It's chilling fingers wanted to continue to shroud us in darkness and clouds.It wanted to pummel us with it's ice pellets as if to shout"I'm here and I will not let you go."And so I stayed indoors and cleaned and organized.And as I worked I thought.Alot.I do that.I imagine you do to.I thought about life and trials and God's goodness.And yet somehow winter still wanted to keep my heart,my soul,wrapped in it's frozen grasp.Feelings and emotions churned.Discouragement tried to creep in.Big time.It seemed it was going to crowd out recent memories of God's goodness and provision.And it almost won.And I realized that I needed a spring cleaning in my soul.In my heart.That much as our physical lives often need a fresh cleaning and organizing,so do our hearts and souls and spirits.Clutter in our outer lives can often cause clutter in our inner lives I think.And it can weigh us down.Keep us mired in places we should not be;at least not permanently.And for me it often feels like a loss of flow.Loss of the flow of His Holy Spirit at work in my life.Loss of vision.A sense of almost hopelessness.It is then we need a good cleaning.A time of refreshing.Of opening the shutters on our windows and our hearts wide.Of cleaning up those dark and dank places that have slumbered too long in winter's bed.It is then that He can once again move and flow in our lives.And it is then that we once again feel renewed and full of hope and optimism.And we once again feel clean.Spring clean.Blessings~Sharon
~Image courtesy of www.freestockphotos.com ~
