This past Friday was a day of deep cleaning. I was expecting a lot of company on Saturday so Friday I dove into cleaning my house. I tackled areas that had been neglected for quite some time. I cleaned the inside and outside of all my windows, dusted blinds, wiped down kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, vacuumed ceiling fans...you get the idea. Pretty much it was a BLAH day!
If you have been to my house you know that I have white cabinets. Picture this a 21 month old toddler and white cabinets. I was down on my hands and knees cleaning hand print, after hand print, smudge after smudge from little Meritt and I ALMOST let myself get a feeling of frustration but just before the frustration swept over me I was flooded with the thought that in a few short years I won't have smudges or hand prints to clean. My little girl won't be a little girl she will be a big girl and I will long for these moments of remembering her sweet little hands.
I then began to pray. Every time I came across a hand print of Meritt's or a smudge made by Meritt I prayed. I prayed that she would grow up and love God more than anything. I prayed that at that very moment God is raising up a young man that is going to be her husband and that he will love Meritt but that he will love God more than Meritt. I prayed for Meritt to have a tender heart. I prayed that she would be quick to listen and slow to speak. I prayed that she would be quick to forgive and be kind to all people. As I prayed these prayers suddenly cleaning didn't feel like the chore that it had started out to be.
My prayers for Meritt then turned to prayers for my husband, for my family, for my friends. This daunting task of cleaning had turned into such a blessing. As my day came to an end Friday my house was clean and my heart was full. Full to the brim. I felt joy, and a feeling of calmness knowing that my baby, husband, family and friends are all being guarded by our Heavenly Father!! I know that there will be frustrations to come in life's boring tasks but I pray that I remember Friday and that when the mundane tasks come I can turn those tasks into a time of joyous conversation between me and my Heavenly Father!!
