So, this week I took advantage of the best baby shower gift ever! I was blessed by a friend with a housecleaning session. That means that someone else came into my home and cleaned it for 5 hours!

Floors were mopped.

Pictures were dusted.

Toilets were brushed.

And I got to drink Starbucks.

Play with my kids. Relax.

When I got home, my house looked

Clean

Organized

Peaceful

Then we started living in it again.

By the next day, clutter had reappeared, messes were made and that pile of laundry (yes, it’s in the pack-n-play) was begging for attention.

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A few weeks ago, Josh and I went on a weekend staff retreat for his work.

We had two days/nights with just us and Silas. We slept in, we meandered, we reconnected.

As we drove home that Sunday night we felt content and rested.

Then we started living our life again.

The kids were super whiney after two nights of us being gone. We took them out for dinner and it was the ultimate restaurant fiasco. By the time we had them home and in bed we were sorely in need of another retreat.

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So often we expect a weekend away with our church group or a period of fasting to realign our relationship with God. We return from that mountain lake cabin or beach-front hotel room and feel peaceful, refreshed and holy.

Then life comes at us.

We get frustrated, impatient and sinful.

We see the same story played out by the nation of Israel in the OT.

They have moments where God blatantly moves in their life, followed by times of blatant sin.

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Retreats, major cleanings, vacations are all great for getting us back up to speed. I know that I was feeling so overwhelmed in my house, like I could never catch up, that I started not trying as hard. I think the same can be said in our spiritual lives and relationships. When you feel like you’re behind, what’s the point in trying?

So, those major overhauls are great for catching us up.

You can’t rest there, though. If I just said, “Someone cleaned my house, so I don’t have to now,” we’d be right back where we started. Instead, I’m trying even harder to pick up the living room each night, clean the kitchen after dinner instead of waiting till the next morning, and having the kids clean up their rooms. I have incentive to keep it clean.

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There’s a verse in Song of Solomon that speaks about this:

Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, while our vineyards are in blossom. Song of Solomon 2:15

In our lives there are little foxes, little things, that come in and seem inconsiquential. If we let them go, and don’t deal with them right away, they will eventually ruin what is alive in us.