Thursday, August 23, 2007

Spring Cleaning

Here's an old poem that I found called "Spring Cleaning". I don't know when it was written, but it appeared in an anthology of quotes and poems that was published in 1909.

Since those of us who blog about homemaking can relate to the freshness of a house that has just been through a thorough spring cleaning, I thought we'd all enjoy the imagery. One thought though: This poem speaks to cleaning out the dirt and dust of our hearts and letting the sunshine in. Our Lord said that our hearts must not only be swept clean, but also must be filled with the Holy Spirit. To have the Lord dwell in the heart is the heart's true joy. Matthew 12:43-45, John 14:23, Matthew 26:28.


The Spring Cleaning

Now open up the windows of the heart,
And let the sunshine penetrate the gloom;
Clear out the fears and doubts that grimly start
Like ghosts within the mind's dim haunted room.

Brush out the cobwebs that your malice wrought,
And sweep away the grudges that you bear;
Replace each petty and ungracious thought
With one that is forgiving, true, and fair.

And when the task if finished, you will find
That happiness is destined to remain
Within the sunlit rooms of heart and min,
And know your work has not been done in vain.

Reynale Smith Pickering



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