Mhe family knows that my comfort zone is either in the kitchen—stirring a candy, or with a pen or a scoop in my hand. Home cleaning is not my forte! They all know it and don’t mind seeing a cobweb under a chair or a few fingerprints on the glass door.

However, when we expect company, I push my aversion to housekeeping into a distant brain cell and accept my mission. Business is special and should be treated as such.

It was business week. I grabbed a mop, oily rags, a broom, a comet, window cleaner, and courage as I tackled our not-so-clean house. The front door was a good start. Residue of wind-blown rain debris nestled in the corners of the windows and needed to be removed. First impressions are important. It’s always amazing how much better the view is from a cleaned door and window.

Then I went to the kitchen. When I use my cooking eyes, I only see the ingredients I’m using in the recipe. When I clean, I see details – like the grunge of the stove, the refrigerator door that has foreign germs in it, the cabinet door handles that have a little cookie flour in it, the deep corners under the cabinets that collect crumbs of cookies. My mission is obvious – so is my negligence.

Then I tackled the floors – carpet, hardwood and tile. The spots were removable; they just needed a helping of elbow grease from the knee position. I applied it.

The bathrooms were next. Dressers ARE on my weekly maintenance list, but the hard-to-reach floors behind those seats are often overlooked! I was on the details that day, so I crawled around those neglected spots and cleaned up vigorously. Then I saw baseboards that I rarely notice. They were dust carriers who had to leave – maybe a few weeks ago! More crawling along the baseboards and our home emerged into a hygienically safe environment.

As I trained my eyes on the details, I noticed that the metal sills on our front and back doors harbored unwanted scuffs and stains. Back on the floor, I scrubbed the sills and found them shiny as when we moved in. Gradually, I began to feel like a liberator of the ignored and a finalist for the Good Housekeeping Award.

Room by room, detail by detail – I stuck with my goal of squeaky cleanliness. And I arrived. The dreaded chore was behind me, and the joy of a dust-free, grunge-free home was worth all the elbow grease I administered.

Then the Holy Spirit prompted me with another thought. Was I so detail-oriented to keep my heart pure and my hands pure? Has the threshold of my mouth been cleared of chatter and judgmental words? Was my heart free from the worldliness that can subtly filter? Was the washing of the Word of God a daily habit for the purification of the heart? Was I aware that my spiritual eyes might become cloudy, causing me to lose focus?

Seeking the “toilet” of the Father would be a solution when I kneel down and wait in silence before Him. He is well aware of every sin, and it is certainly His desire that His children be holy.

Neglecting the housework may be part of what my family must accept, but may I never neglect the pursuit of holiness. The Holy Spirit is not a visiting “company”; He is a permanent resident in my heart, and I want his house to be spiritually – even “squeaky clean”.

Letters to Camille Anding can be sent to PO Box 551, Brookhaven, MS, 39602.