The vacation home I rented for the week is lovely. It has three bedrooms and an infinity pool in the front yard. I really like it because it is all concrete. It is so easy to clean. It is a mantra among some of my friends and I to always leave a place better than we found it. I have done this at camp sites, beaches, lakes and other areas of recreation.
When we first arrived it took us quite awhile to find our vacation home. When we got there it did not have air conditioning. It is amazing how much one can value a cool ocean breeze when there is no air conditioning. I am one who always sleeps with the house cold and then I cocoon myself in under the warm blankets I have on my bed. Not here though. I haven’t even gotten underneath the sheets at all. I lay on my bed and throw a soft towel over me at night time. Before this excursion I would have never thought I could sleep in heat like this. I have gotten used to it now and may even miss it when I go back home.
The first full day was a busy one for my son and I. We had to change our money into pesos and then go grocery shopping. The house where we are staying at has a kitchen and the few times we have eaten at a restaurant we have not been that impressed, so I have been the chef. I made spaghetti in the evening of our first full day here and left the kitchen a complete mess. I was exhausted and went to bed but knew that I would have to clean up the kitchen the next day.
The next day we took a horseback ride up a mountain to see a spectacular waterfall and went swimming in the pond where the waterfall had cascaded down. By the time we got home I was psyched to clean up the kitchen and clean it I did. It was such a good feeling and I even put all of the dishes away in the cabinets, which had not been done when we arrived.
Wouldn’t you know it, the next day was the day when the maids arrived unexpectedly. I was so thrilled that they didn’t have to stay long, they just changed the linens and then swept. Those stinkers took the broom with them so that I couldn’t sweep anymore. I guess they were trying as hard as they could to make sure I relaxed on this vacation. I still try very hard to keep the kitchen clean, so as not to attract a family reunion for every fly on the island, but I am without a broom so no sweeping for me.
When I was thinking of this and the mantra about leaving a place cleaner than you found it I thought it was a bit sad that many times we think to leave a place cleaner than we find it but don’t treat people in the same way. I was thinking about this today and I realized that leaving a place cleaner than you found it is showing respect for those who would have to clean it once you left. So it is not only caring about material possessions but also about people.
There is really no way for a mere human to leave a person cleaner than we found them. However, Jesus, God’s Son had a reputation for cleansing people from their sin. In fact, it is reported that “Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow, Though they are red like Crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18. That is definitely leaving a person cleaner than what they were before.
