Last Saturday I had an appointment scheduled to have my air ducts in my home serviced. How many have ever had the experience of getting their ducts cleaned?  This consisted of a physical examination of my homes duct system and the vents (too include what was called return vents) but also removing any debris or particles that had built up in the unit.  What I did not know, but was educated on, when the technicians came to my home is how the vents not only needed to be serviced but the actual core unit-where the vents ran from needed to be serviced as well.

When the technician was walking me through the process – he took me to the actual housing unit and opened it up and showed me two areas inside- the coils (which included the evaporator and condenser coils) now both of these were important and both of mine where unclean to the point where condensation had began to form on the coils and harden causing mold and spores to begin to form.  He told me I would not have known there is a problem with the unit itself until I opened it up and went inside.  He told me my ducts having dust buildup in them was not really a clear indicator of there being a problem but really all that showed was there was a need for a cleaning. However, not until you went in and physically opened it up and examine do you see how much dirt, debris and damage –consisting of mold and spores on the actual core of the unit.  (Let me just say this, that when he opened my unit up there was almost 2 ½ inches of dirt, consisting of dust, dirt, allergens and Lord knows what else in the unit; and to think that I have been living in my home for 5 years in August. I was embarassed to write this but it was laid on my heart.

This oftentimes can be the condition of our lives at times. We not stopping to do an assessment of what is inside. If we wait too long then it can be detrimental to us, our families, our lifestyles.

In the text, Hezekiah was a king that was concerned about the temple and wanted to put the temple back in order.  He made reference to the priests of the day, “Sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers,and carry out the filthiness out of the holy place.”  He was concerned with getting the house back in order but by cleaning it out from within. When I was thinking about the technician and how he was explaining everything to me. It just reminded me of how sometimes we need to do a deep cleaning of ourselves and dealing with three areas in particularly in this post. Our heart, our mind and our hands.

Our heart – Do we take time to think on what is in our heart? Do we harbor hurt and pain? The heart is the deep seat of our emotions. And it can hold us hostage to some things that we can not let go of. Just like my air ducts there can be deep hurt that has never been cleaned, that we continue to suppress- and before you know it has consumed us with bitterness or worse.  If there is unresolved pain there the Lord  wants us to deal with it but oftentimes the hardest part is acknowledging that it is there. We look over it for so long that we are conditioned to just take it. Remember what the technician was telling me, it was in my ducts and I was now just breathing it in the atmosphere. It became the norm. Do not let debris from your past become your norm. Do the deep cleaning to get better. Forgive that person, forgive yourself if that is what it takes.

Our mind- the mind is considered the gateway to our inner being by what we see and hear. How many guard what they take in? Whether what we engage in as far as conversationally or what we watch and listen too.  I know some of us may like the reality shows or certain sites that we may visit and our response is often, “it is not influencing me.” But is that really true?  Some of what we take in does effect us- for example, some music causes us to feel certain ways or think about certain individuals.  Reality shows that we cannot wait to watch but what is it really feeding? Is it feeding your spirit or is it filling your mind with unrealistic expectations and a false sense of reality?  Just a thought.  The word says, “As a man thinketh so is he.”  So what are we thinking on? I was just thinking the other day-Lord allow me to be careful what I listen too because those things can influence and impact my outlook.  Please don’t get upset with me but just hear the heart of what I am saying. A deep cleaning may be needed to change the way you think. May have to cut off certain things so that you can change the outlook. We must protect the Holy Spirit that desires to live in these bodies.

Our hands- they describe our actions and that in which we operate in. Think about when we wash our hands and what we are doing. The washing of the hands is a symbol of declaring a separation from the unclean thing. My hands can get pretty dirty quickly depending on the environment I am in. The hands are used to pickup things and to move things around.  Are we picking up things in our environment that we have no business touching? Are we bringing things into our temple that we know we should not be touching? What we touch sometimes cannot be seen with the natural eye. Have we stopped to examine and see that which our hands have touched, if it is still attached to our hands? Washing is not enough sometimes there has to be some deep cleaning that removes that which no one can see with the natural eye. I can recall there was a police show that used blue light to detect that which could not be seen with the natural eye to help in solving a crime. The blue light picks up under the surface residue- if the blue light was placed on our lives today what would we find? What have we been picking up or putting down? What have we been exposed too? I am thinking about myself right now- talking to me and doing self examination of things that I need to be careful with-what I am taking in or listening too. This effects all of us no one is exempt but we can strive to do better.

My air ducts were cleaned out to say the least and the deep cleaning was worth it? If I had not allowed the technician to come and look inside- who knows what may have happened. Same in the spiritual aspect, allow the true technician, the Holy Spirit, in to do an honest evaluation of your heart, mind and your hands. And when it lets you know the findings – do not ignore it but work to change.

God bless…