Usually we hear someone speak of "spring cleaning" when it comes to that time for not only intense cleaning, but sorting through and discarding those items no longer needed or desired. For me this can occur at any time during the year. I've been told this doesn't happen often enough, but when it does I "pitch" things quickly. If I wait too long, I might change my mind and simply rearrange what I have. This week has been a "spring cleaning" time. I sorted through and cleaned out a lot of old books and papers from many years of ministry. Hand written wedding, funeral and Sunday sermons had a meeting with the burn barrel. Outdated ministry material met a similar fate. I've done this before, but it has been a long time. This process invokes lots of memories, both good and bad. When the process is all said and done, there's a freshness. There are new materials to use, new sermons to be written, new memories to be made.
Every day God blesses us with new beginnings. God's forgiving and loving grace shown in Jesus gives us the opportunity for a daily "spring cleaning." Prayerfully, we can sort out genuine needs from wants. Hopefully, we can see the person we might be having a difficult time with as an equally important child of God and how that might change how we deal with that person. May "spring cleaning'' be refreshing for you, irregardless of the season of the year.
Pastor Gary Leking
