So I am spending a bunch of time cleaning these days. Bailey is on her way home soon after three and a half months in Italy serving as a missionary. I want the house to look really nice and perfect for her. AND...it's always a good time of year for me to clean like this.



I have been taking a room a day and going over it top to bottom...cleaning out the trash I find under beds....finding clothes once thought long lost...bringing out toys that had been forgotten. There have been bags of trash, lots of laundry, and many bags of give away items. We do that to bless others and to make room for the new things that will be found under the tree in a few weeks.



So far I have done two complete rooms. I have three more rooms upstairs and then I work downstairs as Bailey's arrival date gets closer and closer.



As satisfying and refreshing as this is, I have been thinking about all the energy, time, and thought I have put into preparing for Bailey's return. Now, Jesus is returning also. I am to be preparing for His return...which is even more important than Bailey's return. I am to be ready. Am I? Am I doing the things I need to be doing to be prepared for Jesus' return? Am I putting in the same amount of energy, time, and thought into His return? He is coming back just as surely as Bailey is. It is guaranteed. He has promised it. Just as Bailey has return tickets to come home....Jesus has a time to come back too...