There is a problem when you clean something. Before you cleaned the something in question – a window, a sink, a counter, a toilet, a dresser, take your pick – it was dirty. For many things in my house, once it is dirty you can’t tell to what extent it is dirty.

If the dresser is dusty, it’s new status is simply “dusty.” I can’t tell from yesterday to today how many more particles of dust have accumulated. It is just dusty. Same for the windows. With 3 kids and a dog, finger prints and smudges are a given for all of my window under 4 feet tall. With such a large general collection of “window art” shall we call it, I cannot tell from day to day which smudge is new or when exactly the green crayon appeared. Let’s not even talk about the stainless steel faucets in our bathrooms. Actually, let’s just avoid the bathroom entirely.

So you see, there is a problem with cleaning these dirty things that can stay dirty for any number of days without causing stress or tension because it is impossible to tell (or I willingly ignore) the level of dirty/dusty/smudged/smeared/covered in peanut butter and purple crayon.

But, of course, you have to clean it. The dresser must be dusted, the windows washed, the faucets cleaned and even the bathrooms, scary as they can be with a 3 year old boy who “stands like Daddy” and little girl in training. It is a wonderful feeling when my home is clean. How marvelous to be able to see out of the windows and to not have to cringe as I wash my hands. With environmental allergies, it is so refreshing to take a deep breath and not sneeze. How nice it is to walk around and not crunch cheerios, puffs, dog food or find Little Mermaid stickers stuck to the bottoms of my shoes.

Alas, the picture I just described only lasts for roughly 15 seconds on a rotating timetable. Just as I finish the windows and move onto the floor, Max, our excitable and self-proclaimed guard dog jumps up and smashes his nose on the window intent on saving the family from the jogger 100 yards up the street. As soon as I’m done sweeping the floor (actually, usually while I’m still sweeping in another area, sometimes only 2 feet away) someone drops something that will make a delightfully messy “crunch” in a matter of minutes. I’ll not trouble you with a description of what happens in the bathrooms, I think you can figure that one out for yourself.

It is a never ending cycle and hardly rewarding since I know that as soon as something is clean it will just be dirty all over again, usually in a matter of minutes. It would be much easier to just leave things dirty, which we all know is not healthy.

It’s also not healthy to neglect our spiritual life. Think about it like this. Your house is your life. The windows represent your spirituality. The cleaner your windows, the more light that can come into your house (the light being God, His grace, mercy, love, guidance, etc.) You can see what areas of your house need refurbishing, what areas are looking good, what areas need to be cleaned and where the dark corners are that require attention. But, when your windows are dirty, it is harder to see the areas of your house that are dirty, dusty, smudged or in need of repair. It is also harder to see those areas that are looking good, that you would want to be proud of and share with others.

Another window analogy, this one is from Fr. Robert Barron. Think about your car windshield. When is dark and you are driving away from a light source, your windshield looks pretty good. You don’t see that bug smudge from the other day or the rain splatter from the morning’s shower. But, when you turn and are driving toward the light, you can see in great detail just how many nicks, dings, smears and dirt spots are all over your windshield. When we are pointing away from God, it is easier to ignore our flaws, our insecurities, our dark corners. When we turn toward God, it is easier to address these areas because we can honestly see them. We also can see how they are obscuring our vision and once we clean them up, we can see even better than before.

The trouble with cleaning is now everything is clean! When everything is clean, you know exactly when it has gotten dirty again. But, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.