loving the mess

Yesterday morning my kitchen was rather messy, which is not at all abnormal. I usually wake up to the sight of the previous evening's dinner dishes still dirty in the sink. What was unique about this morning was that the dirty dishes were from entertaining guests, rather than just from feeding my own family.

As Honour and I washed up, a certain quote from a post written by Mrs. Nancy Wilson came to mind:

"I think God prefers a happy, productive untidiness to a joyless organization. Though I love getting my house cleaned up, that is no great achievement. When I really attain to godliness, I will take joy in seeing it get messed up. When I get there, I will be sure to whoop loudly!"

What a beautiful perspective. My goal is not to keep my house in perfect order, but to prepare it to be messed up by the most important things in this life: people.

People, regardless of age, are messy. Not only do they require basic things like food (served on plates that must be washed) and rest (taken in a bed with sheets that must be changed). They also require me. They need to know they're loved. They need to be listened to. They need my time, which means less time spent on keeping my house spotless.

In saying this, I'm not at all condoning laziness when it comes to keeping one's house. Godly, productive women know that diligence in housekeeping is important. But what is the point of mopping those floors and dusting the living room? Is it so that everything can stay clean - spotless, sterile, lifeless? Certainly not!

This attitude applies to guests as well as the "guests" that live in my house on a daily basis: my husband and children. It is possible to be incredibly inhospitable to my own family by having a complaining attitude about the work they create for me, and this is a sin. Isn't it part of a wife and mother's calling to graciously accept and clean up the messes that these precious people bring with them?

Some may ask, "But, don't I also need to teach my children (and my husband for that matter!) to clean up their own messes - to wipe their shoes, to pick up their dirty socks, to rinse their cereal bowl?" Yes, of course! But why do you teach these things? It's not so that your life stays pristine and comfortable. It's so that your children learn the art of loving others.

I want my home to be a place where people are welcome, regardless of the mess - seen or unseen - that they drag through the front door. There will always be time to clean up later. And when I clean, may I remember that I'm not cleaning so that everything stays clean. I'm cleaning to prepare for the next wonderful, joyful mess to rush in, muddy boots, dirty hands and all.

"Where no oxen are, the crib is clean;
but much increase is by the strength of the ox."
Proverbs 14:4