Dust Free, Debt Free

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.—1 John 1:9

Really?  I just dusted two days ago!  And there it was—sunbeams penetrating the blinds bringing it to light—a trail of dust once again making its home on my picture table.

I abhor dusting—all that moving items to dust beneath and then dusting the items themselves.  I guess that’s why it’s always at the bottom of my list.  But I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer and set out to conquer the thick coating on my furniture. What a chore it was dusting all those picture frames.  And now to have the dust return in two short days makes my work seem in vain. 

I Wasn't Ready For It

God once said, “Let light shine out of the darkness!” And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts to let us know that his own divine greatness is seen in the face of Christ.

—2 Corinthians 4:6

I wasn’t ready for it.  I hadn’t dusted or vacuumed. Or prepared my prepare-ahead-of-time dishes.  I hadn’t decorated—I hadn’t bedecked every flat surface with my snowman collection.  My tree was barely up (barely being the operative word). No skirt wrapped around its base.  And worse—no tree-topper crowned its pinnacle!

I wasn’t ready for it.

I didn’t expect family members to come this soon. Family members were on their way. And time was ticking. And…I can’t, Lord.  I can’t do it all. Show me what to let go of and give me peace no matter what unfolds. Help me to focus on what really matters and enjoy every moment.

I wasn’t ready for it.
 

Dust it off!

Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.--Isaiah 33:2

I wearily entered my classroom at the start of the day and switched on my desk lamp.  Light flooded my desktop revealing coffee rings and a layer of dust too thick for me to tolerate a minute more.  I yanked a saturated wipe from the dispenser and pushed away piles of papers.  Scrubbing away coffee stains, I eyed the rest of the mess decorating my desktop. 

A handmade card, an origami crane, a starfish, a plastic frog, a puzzle cube, and a pencil sharpener disguised as a little smiley-faced blue man who seemed to say, “Here I am, ready to serve!”  I laughed and shook my head.  What an odd assortment of items!  How did this collection find its way here? 

Then I remembered.