Dirty Grout

I have a pretty overwhelming to-do list.  And an overwhelming number of projects started but not yet finished.  Which doesn't even include the stacks and stacks of books waiting to be read.  Overwhelming doesn't even begin to describe it, really.

I still have boxes of old photos that I brought home after Daddy died.  I really want to get those sorted through and organized.  But it's an overwhelming task.  And when all those photos are added to the photos we have collected over the years, overwhelming takes on a whole new meaning!

My family tree project has hit a few snags.  It has been interesting to research our family history, but genealogy research is time-consuming and often frustrating.  Particularly as I research my Irish ancestors I often get frustrated, since many records in Ireland were destroyed by fire in the early 20th century.  But I press on.  And I really, really wish I had asked more questions of my parents and grandparents while they were still around and I had the opportunity!

Then there's spring cleaning! Even though winter seems determined to linger, it really is spring and time to begin some spring cleaning.  I'm  anxious to get moving on this project, particularly since we didn't do any spring cleaning last year.  Last spring we packed up and moved ourselves to Columbia before enough spring had arrived here to start any spring cleaning.  And since the time we were away is measured in months instead of the weeks we had anticipated, nothing got done inside or out.  By the time we got back home, we were too exhausted to care!!

The result is that there's lots of clutter that needs sorting through.  Closets and drawers and cupboards that need to be dealt with.  Windows with two years of dirt to be washed away.  Carpets that need cleaning. It's overwhelming.

And then there's the grout.  Why did we put so much tile in this house? Kitchen.  Laundry Room.  Office.  Bathrooms.  LOTS of tile.  Which means LOTS of grout.  Dirty grout.  I began a few days ago cleaning the grout on the tile floors.  It is really disgusting!  And until now, nothing was working.  No matter what product of the many we have tried over the years, no matter how much it cost, no matter how hard we scrubbed. Nothing worked on that dirty grout!  But thanks to Pinterest, I learned the secret to cleaning grout!  Hydrogen Peroxide.  Put it in a spray bottle, spray it on, leave it there a few minutes, scrub with a toothbrush, wipe the peroxide away, and there you have it......clean grout!

I wish I had known this a long time ago!  But now that I do know how to deal with it, you can be certain I will not be letting this dirt build up over time again.  I will deal with it on a regular basis so that it doesn't take over again.

As I have been cleaning the grout, I keep remembering a verse from The Song of Solomon....."catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards".  Certainly Solomon wasn't writing about dirty grout.  But the principle applies, doesn't it?  We need to deal with the "little foxes", the little things, before they become big trouble-making foxes.  Dealing with a little bit of dirt in the grout as it shows up will be a far easier, far less time-consuming project than the one I am now involved in (and overwhelmed by!).

Sin in our lives is the same way, isn't it?  We need to deal with the "little" sins.......the thoughts, the attitudes......before they become the "big" ones.....before those thoughts and attitudes turn into action.  The solution is simple, really.  Just like the solution to my dirty grout turned out to be a simple one.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  (Romans 3:23)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 6:23)

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  (Romans 10:9)

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.   If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9)