I Hate Dusting!
One of the never ending tasks of housecleaning that I particularly hate is dusting! We have black furniture and as anyone who also has black furniture would know, it never really looks clean and dust-free for long. To me, dusting is a thankless job.
Because I hate dusting, does that mean that I don’t ever dust? Certainly not! I have learnt years ago that it is more important to first do the chores you don’t particularly like before going on to the ones you don’t mind as much. Why? In the natural world- because like anything neglected for any great period of time, it escalates. What should have taken at most 10 minutes, takes 20. Certainly, it is a matter of personal discipline to do that chore first- and to do it well. And in my walk with God, refusing to do chores I don’t like doing is symptomatic of heart issues.
By procrastinating, we are allowing it to ruin our enjoyment of life by causing unnecessary guilt. Far better to grab the duster, bite the bullet and just DO IT than let it play in the back of your mind and ruin a good day! Get it done as fast and as well as you can- then rejoicingly go onto the next task. The sense of accomplishment will buoy your spirits and not weigh them down like guilt caused through procrastination.
I also learnt years ago that putting off things I didn’t particularly like doing was not good for me. All day I would dwell on the chore I should be doing but was putting off. The whole day was spent with a nagging niggling thought- “I should be doing the dusting.” playing like a recording in my head. Yet I didn’t do it.
The turn around came when I realized that even dusting is a part of the plan God has for my life- being faithful in the little things is of great concern to God. The Lord called me to be a wife, mother and homemaker. It is an honourable calling. To be really happy in my calling, it was necessary for me to change my attitude and stop seeing myself as just a housewife. I am far more than that.
I have been entrusted with a calling that will last for eternity- being a good wife and mother. Everything I do or don’t do, is being noticed by my husband and my children- and God! My actions speak volumes about my acceptance of my calling as a godly wife and mother. My caring of not only them, but our home reflects my heart more than we can imagine. By not caring about them or my home, the lack of acceptance of my role as a godly wife, mother and homemaker, is shown up as if under a spotlight.
It took a lot of heart searching to realize that not doing the dusting was symptomatic of my not accepting the homemaking role as God’s calling on my life. I had to repent and ask the LORD for help in changing my attitude. And as always, He was faithful.
Do I enjoy dusting today? No! But I do it without grumbling now because I see that it is part of the calling into which God called me- and I have accepted it with gladness! By dusting and doing other chores that I don’t particularly enjoy, I am in effect surrendering to God’s plan for my life. Jesus says that if I am faithful in a little, I will be faithful in much.
Dusting is a small matter that leads to bigger heart issues. If I refuse to do that which I dislike and I am therefore found as untrustworthy, it is almost certain that God will not entrust me with more responsibility. What is seen as an insignificant act is of high significance in obedience and surrender- things highly significant to God. Do you do your dusting?
© Glenys Robyn Hicks
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16:10
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