Tidying up

7:12 p.m. Today's project was to get Heidi's old room tidied up for a potential renter. Isn't it amazing how unkempt and even dirty a room looks when you look at it with the eyes of a guest walking in for the first time?

I can't help but think of our own daily sinful state! Thankfully, we can walk in newness of life as believers and ask the Lord for forgiveness of our numerous daily downfalls! But I confess that I get so accustomed to my "usual self," as all of us do, that I sometimes hesitate to turn that critical eye on my words and thoughts. The apostle Paul advises believers soundly in Galatians 5:16,

Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

May I listen to Your Spirit, catch myself and confess quickly, Lord, when my behavior does not glorify You!

Dust was the first thing we worked on--getting the hanging lamp cleaned up with watered-down Windex and a rag. I'll have to tackle the window sills, maybe this evening, with Comet. The pink blinds will need some freshening also. The electromagnetic air purifier we have in the room has done a pretty good job; otherwise I'd sneeze when I walk in! Steve and I removed the boxes, totes, books and bags from the carpet, and he did a nice job vacuuming. But there's an "elephant in the room"--a hole in the wall where Heather would push in her trundle bed mattress and frame under her older sister's top bed each morning upon arising. The girls shared that room all through toddlerhood and until the bedroom downstairs came available when Heather was in high school. Their older brother Kriss moved away to college in 2001, following the first occupant Sean, who joined the Marine Reserves in 1993.

Steve and I searched Home Depot for some spray foam hole-filler which we'll apply when he returns with the dogs in a few minutes. We have a roll top desk in the next door bedroom, but that heavy piece is not moving until we find out whether our renter has a desk or study table of their own. The room is pretty girly, with wall paper trim and a large collection of full size porcelain dolls on a shelf, as well as a corner shelf unit full of knickknacks and photos of Heather and her friends. Shoeboxes upon shoeboxes of Heidi's fill the closet shelf, along with a few evening dresses. Her wedding gown is in the next room's closet. Any of these items can be removed, just like we took out the giant stuffed animals from one corner. I wonder if the girls will claim their childhood and teen belongings...

As I wrote yesterday, it's a big step to offer a place in one's home to a boarder, but it's foolish to sit in an empty house that once was home to seven people. That's not wise stewardship of what the Lord has given us in my view. And think of the opportunity to witness to a new friend with our lives and lifestyle. May the Lord give us as much peace and calm as possible, and for me, I would ask for the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) once again (!) in dealing with Steve's limitations from Alzheimer's:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness, self control.

As we prepare to meet with our first applicant tomorrow at Starbucks, may the light of Jesus Christ shine for them to see, and may our home be fresh, welcoming and loving!