Cleaning Inspiration

His car is immaculate. Every inch of the sporty SUV is polished, inside and out.

When my younger brother first bought the car in an inner family purchase , it was in good condition, but he's a bit of a perfectionist and he slowly began redoing small things that were wearing and looking faded. All the black trim was carefully repainted, the paint was painstakingly given a deep polish and buff to bring out the original luster, and he worked on replacing wearing parts.

It is was a nice car when he got it, now it is the height of respectability. Not only is the car clean, but every polishable surface shines, the carpet is vacuumed, and a miniature garbage can in bright yellow is carefully place between the back seats to keep garbage from littering his pristine vehicle. In the back, a large tote organizes, well, whatever he has in there. I'll have to look next time I see him. Sure I'm a bit nosy, he'll just laugh at me. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's emergency supplies: water bottles, flares, bug repellent, etc. I wonder if there's traffic cones? Now you can see why I really do need to take a look.

The car is older and he's debated updating for a newer ride. It's especially tempting when all the young guys he works and associates with drive great big fancy new rigs. But he's wise, and when he's tempted, he looks at it financially and decides to stick with the same car for now. And then he goes and gives it another wash.

I'm sure the day will come when he opts for a newer ride, but for now his car is the perfect reflection of the young man; unpretencious, but exuding unquestionable respectability. He works for a contractor and his job can often be dirty, but even there he upholds a standard: no t-shirts. his work attire is an assortment of collared shirts in subtle plaids, usually blue and pressed. I don't see him as a snob about these things, it is merely how he sees fit to live his life.

His personally tidiness is applied to his job as well, when he's driving a vehicle for his employer, it is kept clean, and he does a thorough job. That means he doesn't just clean out the garbage, but the vehicle is washed, probably waxed; he sees to the details. It not just about cleanliness, he gives his all to doing a quality job in whatever area he is working.

Having just seen him recently, I'm feeling a renew of the challenge of his example. There are many areas for which I'm personally responsible that I need to go that extra mile to keep clean and - polish! Most particularly my room. I want my personal responsibilities to be in perfect order and cleanliness so I'm free to serve others with the same standard. It's a wonderful goal to want to be faithful in little so you are prepared to be faithful in much, but sometimes it is easy to forget in the mundane of day to day. I'm so grateful that God has seen fit to give me such a wonderful example.

My brother is quite a guy, and if I wasn't his older sister and he didn't make me scream when I was little, I'm sure I'd have a crush. He's the poster child for those witty mugs: tall, dark and handsome. He's perfectly gorgeous in a top hat and looks like he's should be hob nobbing with the royals, only perhaps he has more presence. I'm not trying to be clever there, he does.

In truth, the only time I think he was ever more gorgeous is when he was about three, with his bottle, blue eyes and a beautiful head of curls.......Though I'm sure I didn't think so at the time.

This past week I've been trying to go through and finish up projects that have been "energy drainers". It seems so easy to keep putting off little things, but then they stay there sapping emotional energy. Do you know how good it feels to finally finish up those little projects that have been nagging at you?