Cleaning up...

We have officially begun the year 2007. We got together for sauerkraut and pork and mashed potato. It would be nice to say something profound here, but instead I began with a silly poem about the perils of not taking out the garbage - the poem that Randy used to begin his sermon yesterday. Not taking care of the garbage is really bad. It does tend to pile up and become unmanageable. It attracts bugs. It stinks. There are many kinds of garbage, but all kinds are bad and need to be taken care of. Hurtful words and thoughts can rot a soul. The failure to show kindness, to forgive, to make right choices, giving way to fear - all garbage must go if you desire cleanliness. I won't list all the spiritual garbage and I won't list my personal failings, but on the first day of the new year cleaning up is on my mind. It is amazing how free and ready to meet the world one feels after a good housecleaning! And if cleaning house has this effect, then imagine how liberating and envigorating it is to clean up one's spiritual house!