40 Days of Lint, Day Thirty-four: Hindering Bunnies

Part Five: Dust Bunnies (Deep Cleaning)
Today, we begin part five of our 40 day trek through Lent to arrive at our final destination Easter morning. We’ve looked at four kinds of spiritual lint so far that collect in our hearts and hinder our relationship with Christ:

·         Dryer Lint – when we are spiritually dry

·         Belly Button Lint - at the center of our being

·         Pocket Lint - in the secret places no one else sees, and

·         Clothing Lint – having to do with appearances




dust bunny art

Now we hit the home stretch of deep cleaning, as we chase those pesky little dust bunnies, just in time for Easter. Wikipedia describes them as, “small clumps of dust that form under furniture and in corners that are not cleaned regularly. They are made of hair, lint, dead skin, spider web, dust, and sometimes light rubbish and debris, and are held together by static electricity…They can house dust mites or other parasites, and can lower the efficiency of dust filters…are harmful to electronics…and [shorten] the life of electronic components. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_bunny

If this information makes you feel just a little creeped out, I’m with you. And it gets more serious when we think how this applies to our spiritual lives.

Day Thirty-Four: Hindering Bunnies

In their article “Over and Under Achievers,” Reader’s Digest (April 2011) introduced Tom Nardone’s Perpetual Motion Dust Mop. He glues or sews microfiber dust mops onto baby’s pajamas so they can clean the floor of dust bunnies as they scoot around the room. Both a tempting and disturbing idea since dust bunnies are collections of dirt and organisms. They’re not only disgusting, but unhealthy. When they work their way into machinery and electronic gadgets, they slow things down. That’s exactly what happens to our spirits as well. The writer of Hebrews said:

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).

I don’t know what slows you down, but I have my own set of dust bunnies that hinder my walk and distract me from the course. I must constantly kick my way free of false guilt, insecurity, perfectionism, inhibition, and a well-meaning tendency to enable others. These bunnies sometimes have an appearance of holiness, just like the soft and fluffy stuffed bunnies in  stores can look like the real thing. In reality, however, they are man-made efforts, which Isaiah describes as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and they keep us from experiencing the real thing.

The only way to get rid of lint like that is deep cleaning by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our true example. He didn’t let anything deter Him from His mission – not fear of suffering, not persecution, not temptation, not even when His best friends and family didn’t understand. He kicked away dust bunnies with each step as He made His way to the cross, because He knew there was great joy ahead. His joy was conquering sin and death, and making a place for us in heaven with Him.

Lint Removed: Whatever Hinders

Cleaning Process: Focus on the Joy Ahead