Helping our Children find Motivation to Clean Up the Mess

We’d been upstairs for over an hour now.

“Bear, clean your room.”

Bear would then proceed to prance here and there and everywhere through her room, discovering toys and rearranging the dollhouse furniture – but the moments were ticking by, and still, no noticeable dent had been made in her room.

“Bear, clean your room.”  More moments, more delay.

And again. My frustration (and voice) was rising with each reminder.

And again. Her resistance rising with each show of my frustration.

And just when it seemed hopeless for any sort of success – I had a moment of Mom-wisdom. That James 3, “Wisdom from above” that is exactly that, wisdom from Above.

I mean, who really likes to be told what to do? What if God dealt with us like that …

Katherine, obey me. Katherine, obey me now. Katherine! OBEY me NOW!  I HAVE TOLD YOU 50 TIMES NOW TO OBEY – WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?

Oh. Sigh. Thank you, God, He does not deal with me like that.  If He did, well – I would be right there with my daughter. In truth, I have ignored His voice countless times, just like my daughter and yet, every time, it is His kindness that leads me to repentance. It is His gentle, patient, kind, merciful gracious smile that melts my heart and calls me back.

There’s a song we sometimes sing at home as we clean up. As I stood before Bear, the Lord reminded me of it,

“At the end of the day,

at the setting sun, 

we want to see His smile,

we want to hear His, ‘well done’

It’s a song filled with double meaning. When Daddy comes home, we want the house to be clean to bring a little refreshing to his day. When our Lord Jesus comes back, we want to see Him smile. We want to have walked in such a way that we can hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful bondman” (Matthew 25:23)

Sigh. “Oh, Bear”

“I know you don’t like to clean. I know it doesn’t help to hear mommy say, ‘Clean your room, clean your room, clean your room’, over and over. And who likes to clean? I don’t like to clean either … but you know what? I like to see Daddy smile. Do you like to make Daddy smile?”

She is a Daddy’s girl, through and through. Before every trip Daddy takes, for every special day, and oftentimes just because, she is the one who is all the time creating little notes and pictures for Daddy.

The defiant rebellion visibly melted away. Her eyes brightened, and a gentle smile came over her face. In a moment, my sweet little girl had returned.

“Bear, you know what would make Daddy smile big? What if he came home, and your room was super clean? What if he came now and we had all made the house sparkle? Do you think that would bless Daddy and bring him joy? Do you think we can do that together?”

Her face lit up. All of her resistance to my nagging was forgotten in a beautiful, glorious, moment. I don’t know exactly what she was thinking at that moment. But I’m quite sure that she remembered her Daddy. She remembered his heart and his love for her. And in a moment, she was off to her room – where she stayed for the next hour and cleaned her room to perfection – without me mentioning it again.

Oh, the Father’s love. Oh His heart towards us. Oh, His kindness – that leads us to repentance. Oh, His look, that melts our stubborn hearts and causes us to run back and obey.

You know – when God speaks to us, it is usually that still, small, voice. (1 Kings 18:20) And when he calls us into service, to work with Him, it should be not the sense of duty or the righteous requirement of the law that compels us, but “the love of the Christ that constrains us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

On this day, my daughter just needed to be reminded of her Daddy who loved her, and she needed to be encouraged to walk in such a way that would make him smile. She didn’t need Mommy’s temper or Mommy’s harsh demands, or Mommy repeating an order that she had already heard ten times. No. She needed a fresh vision. A reminder of the father’s love. A reminder of why she was being asked to do this.

When she remembered Him – she could serve with joy, without hindrance, until the job was done.

Friends – are you feeling weary in this life? Is your “room” a little messy and you have no motivation to clean it out? Lift up your eyes to the Father. Remember His love for you – to send his Son, Jesus, to cleanse you from every sin. Remember His kindness. His voice is not harsh. He is not railing over you, reminding you of all your failures – that’s His enemy. No, in love, He sent His only son, Jesus, to die, to cancel out your debt and mine – so that we could be free, and live in that freedom. Doesn’t that make you want to clean up your room?

At the end of the day,

At the set of the sun,

We want to see his smile,

We want to hear his ‘well done’

“Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the JOY of the Lord.”

When Daddy came home that night – Bear joyfully escorted him to her room.

His smile did not disappoint.

Please follow and like us: