Julie's Steam Cleaning Revelation

The house is slowly coming together. Carpet is in, but now comes weeding out and rearranging. Yesterday was our son's room. It took forever because he keeps everything. I'm thankful I tackled most of it during school hours because once he was home, he even asked if I could preserve a piece of string. String!!

Part of the process is steam cleaning. We recently purchased a new one and it works so great. I'm a results person so to watch the dirty water rush into the tank, that's thrilling for me to watch. I'm accomplishing something!




I also had an ephinany during the cleaning. Years ago I was a work from home mom with a toddler. I was suffocating under the pressure I was putting on myself to be perfect at every role in my life. Needless to say, there was never enough time. When I steam cleaned, I went at it like Speedy Gozales, right down to breaking a fairly new cleaner because I pushed too hard on a rough carpet. I only gave the appearance of clean, but deep down, I left a lot of dirt behind.

This time around, I'm bothered by the chaos but I know it's going to take time and I can only do so much. His room has seen a lot of action resulting in stains and ick I thought would be there forever. I took my time cleaning and as I methodically moved the cleaner back, all the dirt came up.

It hit me, that's what I've surrendered and let God do. It's so much more than growing older and possibly maturing. I yielded my life, my fears, hurts, goals, expectations and all the dirt to Him. He's not done but already I can see the dirty tank resevoir is full and the floors are clean. I'm no longer tied to living the perfect life. In fact, I find I get a bit cranky when I sense someone is trying to pressure me to be perfect.

How about you? In your life, is everything perfect at a glance but deep down the dirt remains? I challenge you to take your time and let God work a deep cleaning within you. I feel as alive as my son's carpet looks---and that's something God is willing to do for anyone that asks through faith in His Son!

By the way, the Love Dare is on over at Christian Women Take Root. If you've tried the Dare before on your own, join us. There truly is safety in numbers. This is open to all approved members of Christian Women Take Root.



Julie Arduini is driving herself to exhaustion trying to balance writing, marriage, children, website creation, working out, and chocolate. Her website is still under construction, but check it out at JulieArduini.com.