a couple of saturdays ago i finally decided to clean my apartment. i mean, i generally keep the place pretty clean [um, just don't look at my desk]. but this was serious; i was going to bust out the mop.

yeah. I KNOW.

i spent most of the day dusting and scrubbing and wiping and soaking. by the end of the evening, everything was pine-sol fresh and clean enough to expand the five-second rule by several minutes at least. i fell into bed feeling very productive.

the next day, i realized, was the first sunday of advent. there was no sermon per se [SOMEONE was in honduras... something about servanthood, whatever], but a guided time of reflection on waiting, on redemption. mostly i was struck by the sense of hope that this season of advent brings. the hope of new beginnings, the hope of cleansing, the hope of love and life and joy. the hope that the new will come and the old shall pass away.

something about it all compels me to reflect on my own state of affairs. now, i know sometimes people feel like they need to "clean up" before they have some sort of "come to Jesus" moment or something. which is not the sort of motivation i'm talking about here. i'm not talking about being driven by fear, or guilt, or embarrassment. i'm talking about being led by love, by thankfulness, by gratitude. kindness paves the way to repentance. redemption is bigger than fear. our lives are not our own, and that is a very good thing.

my apartment may be spotless, but there's always a little housecleaning to do.