My grandmother used to say that you should leave a room better than you found it. What she meant was that you should do a quick visual sweep of the room to see if you could throw out the Hartford Courant that everyone had already read or pick up your sneakers and leave them on the landing to go upstairs. My father would sarcastically remark about this idea, "And some people make the room better just by leaving it."
Anyway, I always remember that and her admonition to keep the sink clear of dishes because this was a key to keeping the whole house clean. To this day, I cannot leave the house or go to sleep with dishes in the sink. As New Yorkers say, "It skeeves me out."
The other day, I was making a visual sweep of the dining room on my way upstairs. I had left my Bible on the dining room table. I felt the Lord speak to my spirit quietly saying, "Take your Bible upstairs with you and it will leave you better than if you left it here." Which reminds me of the old saying that if your Bible looks spiffy on the outside, you don't look so good on the inside. Conversely, those with the underlined, booked marked, highlighted pages and the spine taped with duct tape (a la my Papa) looked pretty good on the inside.
I will delight in the law of the Lord, I will meditate day and night. Then like a tree, firmly planted I'll be - grounded it Your word.
2 comments:
I live by that philosophy! In fact, I say it to myself wherever I go. I never want to leave a person feeling more down than when I greeted them, I like to pick up at least one piece of trash in the park. And as for the dishes, I had to laugh. I took a Zen class in college and that was my "project." I vowed to not leave any dishes in the sink -- whether they were mine or not. I realized it made a huge difference and I keep that practice up 27 years later!
I leave dishes in the sink all the time, sad to say, but i do make the bed everyday. that should get me some points in my favor. ;)
Post a Comment