persistent dust

The bane of my housekeeping existence is dust.

Those tiny particles that are constantly on the move; relentlessly searching for surfaces on which to breed. Yeah, that's right, I said "breed."  Cause that's certainly what it feels like. One minute there's no dust, then next thing you know, it shows up, followed by even more the next day. 

At least when I vacuum or wash the floor or do laundry, there is a period of a few days where I can enjoy the completion of the task until I am required to do it again. But not dust. No, with dust, I wipe the furniture and before I even turn around, at least a half dozen particles have already descended onto my table. 

The only way to enjoy a relatively dust-free house is to eliminate all dust-producing culprits; children, pets, fabric furniture, carpet, air ducts, movement, breathing, gravity, etc. But since that's obviously not possible, I suppose I'd be content with a live-in dust maid that wiped everything down three times a day. Because if it builds up, it can be quite unsightly and cause some serious problems like allergies or asthma. 

I cleaned my house thoroughly this afternoon. But as I was brushing my teeth before bed, I noticed my white ceramic soap dispenser had a fine scattering of dust particles on it.  I groaned and decided dust was evil and I will never escape it as long as I'm on this earth. And before I even finished brushing, an object lesson was shaped in my mind. 

I could see how dust resembled the influence of the enemy. How no matter how much I aim to seek God and rest in His presence and Word, I can't escape the enemy's attempts to influence my everything.  It's annoying and just down-right frustrating. But it can also be dangerous if it builds up. 

Evil dust. The stuff that settles on my heart and on my spirit. The dust that influences my ability to respond in a gentle or patient manner. The dust that prevents me from exercising my faith in God during a trial. The dust that distracts me and makes the world's lies more appealing than God's truths. And even the dust that covers up the unforgiveness my heart still harbors. 

My only safeguard against this evil dust is to target it every day. But also to eliminate the things that can contribute to the dust problem. With God-gifted motivation, I have been able to eliminate some of the activities that would increase the dust production so at least I can breathe a little easier. But sometimes, I hate to admit it, the dust builds up because I'm not maintaining properly.   All of the changes in my life are credited to God's goodness and grace but there is one thing I can do, and that is to maintain my desire for God. It's a choice only I can make for myself. And that means that when I am awakened early and find myself impressed to spend time with God, I respond to it instead of rolling over and snuggling back up in my warm blanket. Maintaining means looking for opportunities to savor the treasure of His Word instead of distracting myself with other forms of silliness. It means practicing faith, every day, praying, "I choose to put my faith in you, God. You are faithful."  It means making daily statements of submission and commitment to God. 

I'm not necessarily writing to the readers of the blog. I'm writing to myself for the reminder. I need to be reminded to approach my walk with God very consciously and very deliberately. Otherwise the dust stacks up and it becomes a visual offense not only to me but to anyone that I invite into my life.

I hate the dust that litters my house on a perpetual basis, but now I also appreciate the reminder to make a thoughtful decision about targeting the dust daily; even several times a day!  So now when I see the dust in my house, I'll actually praise God for the object lesson and then praise Him for being the best dust killer, ever!  

Who knew that neglecting to wash off my soap dispenser could result in such a valuable reminder. I love how God works to influence the mind. He's so cool.