Spring Cleaning

Well, it's only appropriate that I post about cleaning, something I catch myself doing as a hobby almost :-)!

So today started as a Jeremy study day and a "practice cake decorating skills" for me day. It quickly evolved with a phone call from Jeremy's dad. He called to say that he had leftover fertilizer and today was a good day to get that done since it's supposed to rain tomorrow. He's kind of our lawn maintenance teacher/reminder guy! It's a hobby of his so he always makes sure we know when, how and tat to do to our landscaping. So Jeremy ran over there, picked up leftover fertilizer (and it was of course the perfect amount for our yard!) He also picked up electric hedge trimmers and a few other tools.

He came home, asked if I would help and I reluctantly agreed. However reluctant I was at first, I ended up really enjoying the yard work. We picked up sticks (we called it 52 thousand pick up!) and raked/sucked up leaves that were left over from the fall. One of our trees didn't shed until after it had snowed, so there were piles under all of that snow! We also trimmed hedges, took away all of the dead stick things where new bushes/flowers were growing (my lawn technical terms are not up to par) and we fertilized the yard.

I couldn't help but relate our outdoor spring cleaning to Lent and the effect that should have on our lives each year. It is a spiritual spring cleaning and it is no coincidence that the two run simultaneously in the spring. It really put Lent, especially this upcoming Holy Week into perspective. We are to have a mindset of "out with the old, in with the new." Flowers and bushes are just starting to bloom and you can just start to see green popping up out of the dead brownness. Just as we can just start to get a glimpse of the spiritual rebirth that Easter will bring in just over a week. Not only in our hearts, but especially in the hearts of all of those new Catholics that we will welcome in a week. If we don't clear away the dead stuff, we can't make way for the new. Wow, maybe you've thought of it this way before, but I really hadn't and it really made me think. I am going to make sure that this Holy Week really is a time for me get rid of that spiritual "garbage" that has collected from the past and work to make new for the "new life" that Christ will bring on Easter.

So to make a long story short, I really got a lot more out of helping Jeremy than just the satisfaction of getting it done. It was a physical and spiritual chore that was fun to do with my husband despite my initial dislike for the idea!

So out with:

1) Not fitting prayer into my day as I should
2) Fretting over small things
3) Impatience
4) Infertility frustration/Adoption things not happening as fast as I want
5) Having everything my way
6) Complaining

And in with:
1) Making my whole day's work a prayer AND setting aside specific time to pray
2) Letting things go and trusting in God's will
3) Patience
4) A new beginning in our family's journey
5) Listening to others' ideas
6) Being thankful for all that I have and am able to do in my life


So have a wonderful Holy Week and please pray especially for all of those who take a giant leap for their faith in just a week!!