Spring-Cleaning!

Spring cleaning! In Malaysia we do not experience spring therefore I never quite got why we call it spring cleaning in my sunny/rainy-all year round-country. In actual fact the term spring cleaning was coined to describe ‘the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime’….. it ‘refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom which would take place in the first warm days of the year typically in spring, hence the name’ (thank you Wikipedia for the help). Anyways, I find it quite interesting how this tradition of doing a major clean-up before a new year or a warmer time has been a common practice in different cultures. There is the Jewish Passover (celebrated to remember the journey of the Jews out of the land of Eygpt into the Promise Land), Iranian New Year (Norouz), Chinese New Year, etc. I believe the major clean-up is symbolic to put the old year behind and start the year fresh!

In my family, the major clean-up is before Christmas and the New Year. We change the curtains, dust, fix, throw-out, wash, sometimes buy new furniture and (in my case) get rid of old clothes to make room for new ones (yay!)– it all happens at the same time, early to mid December. Of course you do cleaning in the middle of the year but its nothing like this ‘heavy duty cleaning’ in December. It’s the time you discover the whereabouts of the dress you accused your sister of losing, the unworn-shirt that you just couldn’t leave the shop without purchasing/ just knew you HAD to get it there and then!, the gift from someone you cared about and is not in your life anymore, the journal that you wrote when you were ‘Oh so young’ and now you think ‘I was oh so naïve’ to ‘if I only knew then, what I know now things would have been far less painful’, etc. Somehow when you find these things – life becomes a little clearer and in my case, I become so much more thankful. Other than finally going through all my junk, throwing tons of stuff and having a much cleaner room, I thank God that to some measure I’ve become wiser. I was able to let go of many things in my past that cluttered my space, thoughts, heart, and took a little of my strength. Being able to leave the year that I grew so familiar with….from the smells, sights, sounds and the ‘organized’ mess (that only I could find my way around) to fresh, new, optimistic new beginnings of a new year is a great feeling. This was a good year but when we get too comfortable we do not make room for God to do a brand new work in us - to enable us to do great exploits. The challenges of a new year can excite or cause fear. Starting on the right note helps.

Looking heavenward is a good way to start the year even if the year doesn’t turn out the way we want it to. We know that He is in the year and He will carry us through if we allow Him too. What does God have in store for 2014? I’m excited with what He wants to do with me next year. I’m trusting God to work the impossible with you and me.

Enjoy Christmas and the gift of giving. Celebrate Christ.

Shalini