The Empty Motivator

I don't know what it was about the empty room which motivated me, but the feeling was compelling. I felt that I simply MUST clean!

It was just last night. For Father's Day, I cleaned up the kitchen and took the kids to the park all afternoon so that Daddy could work on some of his projects. I took them out for dinner at (gasp!) McDonalds :-) This was a very satisfying experience for the kids, for they had pooled some of their money as a contribution to the treat. Hubby calls me in the midst of this time to let me know that a man had come to the door offering to clean the carpet in one of our rooms for free. He told the man to come back at 6:00, certain that I would desire this service.

We returned home to find that wonderful Hubby had moved all of the furniture out of the living room (minus the piano) in anticipation of the great cleaning of the carpet (mind you, super-Grandma had already cleaned the carpet for us just 3 months ago, but five little kids will do a number on your carpets, especially right near the dining areas).

There was only one problem: He didn't show up! So, after I nursed the baby on the couch in the foyer, I set to work. I cleaned all of the windows in the main area, cleaned the couches and end tables and coffee table. I wiped down the baseboards and deeply vacuumed the living room (I thought about the Bissell, but I hate to get the carpet wet during muggy season). Then I shined up the tables and other furniture with furniture polish and rearranged the living room. I think I'll rearrange it some more later :-) How satisfying it was to put everything back in place, knowing it was clean!

The Deep Side....
But how is it that emptiness motivates? When my cup is empty of tea, I walk over to fill it up again. Why do I do this? I suppose because I am sure there is more tea, and I desire this pleasing substance.

When it comes to a person, surely there is a certain despair associated with feeling empty. Perhaps because they aren't certain there is something good to fill them up.

And yet we have hope. God says "open wide your mouth, and I will fill it." Everyday, we open wide our mouths and fill our bellies. And we fill up the empty spaces around ourselves, motivated with a certain hope for a more satisfying life. But God says of them which do hunger and thirst for righteousness, that they will be filled. God was (is) motivated to fill the emptiness in our lives. The question is: are we looking to Jesus Christ to be filled?