This year we did not have any external Seders to lead or teach, but our time was still consumed with school, family life, and Brandon coaching lacrosse. It was nice, however, to be able to plan for just our family in terms of a Passover. So much time is spent out of our home that when we have time to be home together we enjoy it very much!
I spent a few days cleaning out the house of products containing leaven. We ate up what we could and donated the rest to the Food Room on-campus. Some people throw it away, but I am still torn about doing that knowing there are people who need the food and will eat the food. It's tough. Anyway...
I spent an entire day cleaning my kitchen from top to bottom (literally), in an effort to remove residual traces of leaven. I have to say that it was such a spiritual experience! It was grueling, tiring, physically demanding, freeing, and rewarding. Removing items from the tops of my cupboards and from inside the cupboards, cleaning them off, putting them back...sweeping, mopping, wiping off cupboards, cleaning the trim under the cupboards...a good thorough cleaning.
As I was cleaning I was thinking about how our hearts are like cupboards. We hide things in there so that it cannot be seen by others until the right time (such as opening up the cupboards to look for something). Sometimes, when we think or appear to have gotten rid of something, but then we look deeper and search behind other things, only to find that there are traces of it left.
During Passover, leaven represents sin. God wanted the leaven removed from our midsts to remind us not only that the Israelites didn't have time to let their bread rise, but also that we are to remove the sin from our midsts. That inclues, homes, hearts, minds, communities, etc. It is not supposed to be there, hidden away.
As I cleaned out my cupboards and put work into doing so, I realized that getting rid of sin in my life is hard work. Somethings are as easy to get rid of as opening the cupboards and pulling out the box of cereal to put into the trash. Yet, other things are like traces of cereal left behind, hidden my cans of fruits and vegetables. It appears as though the leaven (sin) is gone, but in reality it is still very much present and capable of attracting all sorts of ugly things.
Psalm 19:14 says "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."
Lord, please clean out my heart and my mind to the very last "crumb". Search my heart to the corners, floor to ceiling. Remove the things that are attracting other aweful & sinful things. Please fill my heart with the characteristics of a godly woman and the Fruit of your Spirit. May the cupboard of my heart reflect all that is good and pleasing in your sight. Amen.
Jeremiah 17:10 says, ", the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings."
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