Housekeeper
Now that our boys are off from school, the house is a mess. Really.
Every day, we have the same conversations about cleaning up after themselves, how important it really is to take a shower and to remember to unfold their socks before they go into the washing machine. We all live here together so we should all be good stewards of our space. This is not a new conversation, but a regular one in our household these days. It affects our relationships with each other.
In the same way, God expects us to be good stewards of the things that He has given us. (1 Corinthians 4:2). He has given us our bodies to care for, children to rear and relationships to maintain. Just because our situation or season changes does not mean that responsibility to be a good steward is optional. Just because it is summer, does not mean that our boys get out of cleaning their rooms either!
I seriously had thoughts of hiring a housekeeper lately. I know, extreme for some but not completely out of the question as an option. A housekeeper does cleaning for a living so it would not be too strange to have them see our mess and come alongside me as an assistant. God gave us these two kids to parent, and we gave them a room to keep and a housekeeper could help us all. We can let them in, give them access to our home and they take it from there. Presto! A beautiful home as good as new.
BUT, a better option of course is just to allow my boys a learning experience. If they learn to manage their private and shared spaces, when they become a homeowner one day, they will have the blessed privilege to discipline their own messy children, ahem... They would learn that mess breeds insects and other unpleasant situations and discipline.
If we had a person come and clean, that would be great, temporarily. The problem would be the following days, weeks, months and years. Now follow me here. God gives us relationships to steward and sometimes having a person, like a counselor for instance, works well. God gives us children and sometimes having a babysitter is just the cure for our sanity. In our home, a housekeeper would make things tidy and we could all relax a little until, well....we need them to come back.
Like a housekeeper, the Holy Spirit must be allowed access into our private sacred spaces in order to do the dirty work that we cannot handle, Unlike a housekeeper, He comes to stay. He doesn't want to just clean what you show Him. He needs to get into that closet, rearrange what you think is organized and see all your undies too. He is not a housekeeper, He is the Landlord. He is coming to take over and He will not take no for an answer. When you let Him in, you give Him permission to disassemble and reconstruct your life.
Relationships,especially marriages can get super messy and He doesn't mind that. He has seen worse actually. And while it is nice to want to "hire" God as a housekeeper, as many of us do, He is overqualified for that position. You cannot maintain it by yourself and those in this thing with you need your help as well. God makes us interdependent. However, He also make it impossible without Him. If we had it all figured out, it would be clean by now. We need the help of the Lord - every day and all the time!
I think God laughs when we think we can be clean and maintain life without Him. That is how I feel about my boys. They are helpless and hopeless without a mom. We are the same without our Father.
What happens if we never let Him in and we decide that we don't need Him? Well, same as cleaning a room, it breeds filth and invites unpleasant visitors. Not letting God in is an open invitation to the enemy. He comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). There really is no good alternative. No invite equals an open door.
I am so grateful for His unceasing love towards us! As a matter of fact, Jesus DIED to get us clean before God. He is working on us to present us spotless before His Father. He is not even ceasing to pray for us until every ounce of sin has been accounted for. ( Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25).
So, no, this is not a temporary thing, not at all.
God knows that struggle is real with relationships whether it is our children, our spouse or our co-workers and He wants us to hand over reins to Him. If He cannot get this house, our reltionships and our entire lives under control, no one can. Surrender it all to Him and watch Him work!
Every day, we have the same conversations about cleaning up after themselves, how important it really is to take a shower and to remember to unfold their socks before they go into the washing machine. We all live here together so we should all be good stewards of our space. This is not a new conversation, but a regular one in our household these days. It affects our relationships with each other.
In the same way, God expects us to be good stewards of the things that He has given us. (1 Corinthians 4:2). He has given us our bodies to care for, children to rear and relationships to maintain. Just because our situation or season changes does not mean that responsibility to be a good steward is optional. Just because it is summer, does not mean that our boys get out of cleaning their rooms either!
Just because our situation or season changes does not mean that responsibility to be a good steward is optional.
I seriously had thoughts of hiring a housekeeper lately. I know, extreme for some but not completely out of the question as an option. A housekeeper does cleaning for a living so it would not be too strange to have them see our mess and come alongside me as an assistant. God gave us these two kids to parent, and we gave them a room to keep and a housekeeper could help us all. We can let them in, give them access to our home and they take it from there. Presto! A beautiful home as good as new.
BUT, a better option of course is just to allow my boys a learning experience. If they learn to manage their private and shared spaces, when they become a homeowner one day, they will have the blessed privilege to discipline their own messy children, ahem... They would learn that mess breeds insects and other unpleasant situations and discipline.
If we had a person come and clean, that would be great, temporarily. The problem would be the following days, weeks, months and years. Now follow me here. God gives us relationships to steward and sometimes having a person, like a counselor for instance, works well. God gives us children and sometimes having a babysitter is just the cure for our sanity. In our home, a housekeeper would make things tidy and we could all relax a little until, well....we need them to come back.
Like a housekeeper, the Holy Spirit must be allowed access into our private sacred spaces in order to do the dirty work that we cannot handle, Unlike a housekeeper, He comes to stay. He doesn't want to just clean what you show Him. He needs to get into that closet, rearrange what you think is organized and see all your undies too. He is not a housekeeper, He is the Landlord. He is coming to take over and He will not take no for an answer. When you let Him in, you give Him permission to disassemble and reconstruct your life.
He is not a housekeeper, He is the Landlord.
Relationships,especially marriages can get super messy and He doesn't mind that. He has seen worse actually. And while it is nice to want to "hire" God as a housekeeper, as many of us do, He is overqualified for that position. You cannot maintain it by yourself and those in this thing with you need your help as well. God makes us interdependent. However, He also make it impossible without Him. If we had it all figured out, it would be clean by now. We need the help of the Lord - every day and all the time!
I think God laughs when we think we can be clean and maintain life without Him. That is how I feel about my boys. They are helpless and hopeless without a mom. We are the same without our Father.
What happens if we never let Him in and we decide that we don't need Him? Well, same as cleaning a room, it breeds filth and invites unpleasant visitors. Not letting God in is an open invitation to the enemy. He comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). There really is no good alternative. No invite equals an open door.
Not letting God in is an open invitation to the enemy.
I am so grateful for His unceasing love towards us! As a matter of fact, Jesus DIED to get us clean before God. He is working on us to present us spotless before His Father. He is not even ceasing to pray for us until every ounce of sin has been accounted for. ( Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25).
So, no, this is not a temporary thing, not at all.
God knows that struggle is real with relationships whether it is our children, our spouse or our co-workers and He wants us to hand over reins to Him. If He cannot get this house, our reltionships and our entire lives under control, no one can. Surrender it all to Him and watch Him work!
Very interesting post. I grew up with a housekeeper that became family. I not have one anymore as an adult. But there are many times I wish I had an extra set of hands!
ReplyDeleteHow nice! We learn to appreciate those who have been there for us all along as we mature.
DeleteInteresting thoughts. I have also considered the option of a housekeeper to help keep things in order and take away the stress, but haven't done it yet for different reasons. I enjoyed reading your take on this.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this. It would be a blessing to know that you can be clean without your own efforts right?
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