Spring Cleaning

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:8)

It’s March and we are one step closer to spring! And after the long, cold winter months, we crave and embrace the warmer weather and longer days. The arrival of spring is celebrated with a sense of joy because it gives us a reason for renewal and hope. Wintertime blues withdraw as patches of brown begin to disappear, flowers begin to bloom, trees begin to leaf, and despite the extremes of the long and cold winter; spring arrives!  When we think of renewal, we think of rebirth, and springtime is a wonderful time to renew our hearts and our minds, and get rid of things that are dragging us down or stealing our energy.  We allow ourselves to do some “spirit cleaning” and reflect upon our personal and spiritual development.

With spring approaching, we have this sudden urge to open windows, reorganize and make everything in our homes fresh and new. For those people who suffer with seasonal affective disorder (SAD-winter depression), it’s also a time to bust out and reunite ourselves to the longer days, fresh air, and beautiful sunshine. Regardless of our circumstances, spring opens our minds and our hearts to hopefulness, optimism, and rejuvenation. This is a wonderful occasion to reflect on doing the same thing in our spiritual house and life. We all know what areas need some improvement; areas where we need to clean all the cobwebs and junk that have built up in our lives; areas where we need to plant internal seeds that lead to personal and spiritual progression.

Reflect…press forward and leave the past behind

Rebirth…start over fresh

Renewal…relinquish old habits

Growth…recharge your spiritual life

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."   Hebrews 4:12

What are some of the things that clutter up our lives? Do things like gossip, anger, worry, and/or depression get in the way of serving God to our greatest potential? Just like we gather all the cleaning supplies we need to do some deep spring cleaning, we need to submerge ourselves into God’s Word and clean our spiritual homes-His Word is an all-purpose cleaning tool that will meet all our needs!. He is the master cleaner, and He can grant us the strength and wisdom to continue cleaning. In His Word we understand how to…clean out conceit and replace it with humility…clean out doubt and replace it with faith…clean out gossip and replace it with inspiration…clean out anger and replace it with self-control.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

It can really be exciting when we use the time to clean something far greater than our house-our soul! And the more we invite Jesus to blow some fresh air into our life, the more we realize just how messy our souls have become. One advantage we have when we clean spring our spirit is how replenished we will feel when we shed our old skin! Happy spring!

Linking up this week with: