Cleaning. Its a hard task, it takes time, it takes energy, it's something you have to be willing to do. It doesn't happen on it's own, you have to decide that you want to do it, and then you do.
My heart. A part of me, that if I am not careful, will begin to accumulate junk. Whether it be in the form of envy, hate, disklike, ungratefulness, bitterness, worry, or anything else that is not from God.  It's like a sponge, that sucks everything up, and burries it deep down, and won't let go of it, unless I tell it to, unless I decide that it's time to clean.
You see, this past month has been a wake up alert for me. I have been seeing signs and have been hearing warning bells ring loudly in my head, telling me that the " junk" in my life, is getting to be too much.  The pile is getting to big to stay where it is, I either had put it somewhere to let it grow, or, begin to get rid of it completely. An easy task?  Not really.
Cleaning makes you get down on your hands and knees, it makes you get dirty, it makes you forget about your appearance for those few hours, and it makes you simply focus on the task that is ahead.
Cleaning out my heart is kind of like the same thing. I hae to get down on my hands and knees, and set my pride aside. I have to be willing to listen to the truth, the real truth, and not pretend that I don't care. I have to be willing to set aside my  appearance, and simply be humble.
 To truly clean, God asks me to leave  everything else aside, and reminds me that  I am only human, and that until I reach heaven, I will continue to make mistakes. But that the mistakes I make, can become either a blessing, or a curse. I have to decide. Will I let my mistakes mold me and shape me and help me become stronger? Or will I allow them to cripple me, and also cripple my walk with Christ? It's a decision, and it takes humility, a humility that only Christ can give me.
So as I continue to clean out my heart, to remove the junk that will cripple me if I allow it, I look to the cross. I look to the one who is standing there with His arms open wide, offering  grace and mercy. Reminding me of the blood that was shed so that I could find forgivness, and be given, undeserving grace.