The Cleaning of the Vacuum Roller

It all started as we were watching the Thunder game last night.  I don’t know if it was exuberance or rage, but popcorn went flying across the floor.  Enough so I had to drag out the vacuum cleaner.  As I was sweeping, a rogue popcorn hull was just rattling around in the sweeper head refusing to move up into the canister.  Thus causing me to do the unthinkable, turn the sweeper upside down to stick my hand in the sweeper head to remove the hull.  Unfortunately, I found myself face to face with at least a year’s worth of thread, yarn and hair (oh the hair) wrapped around the vacuum roller.  a forty-five minute task ensued.  I began with a lone piece of yarn from a long ago kitchen rug.  I just pulled on one end and it easily unwound.  I then moved on to what had to be half a spool of yellow thread.  It wasn’t so easy to remove.  I resorted to the scissors.  Finally I was down to just hair.  Scissors proved to be unsuccessful ergo resorting to a razor blade.  After quite some amount of work, the roller was freed.

Now keep in mind.  The vacuum cleaner did nothing to cause this to happen.  It was just doing its job sucking up debris from our carpets, yet still found itself wrapped up with shreds of waste.  How true is this of our lives?  At least mine.  I get so caught up doing life, just living day to day, that I get wrapped up and entangled with all the meaningless details and distractions. I can get so wound up that I forget to focus on the purpose for which I was created.  Maybe it is the pressures from work that you cannot leave at the office, but carry them home dragging around your ankle.  Or could it be bills that seem to keep mounting up – not the bills from over spending that you created, but just the bills of living.  Sometimes for me it is the time I spend on silly task like cleaning the vacuum roller instead of sitting with my family to watch the rest of the basketball game or the time I spend on FB and Candy Crush (true confession).  I can get so wrapped up on daily tasks that nothing else seems to matter.  There is a false sense of urgency that creates false priorities.  They build up around me just like the hair on the vacuum roller and keep me from my quiet time, time I could spend ministering to others or time I could simply spend with my family.

Some of these entanglements are as easy to remove as the yarn from the kitchen rug.  However, some are so deeply entrenched a razor blade is required for extraction.  In Philippians 3:13 Paul talks about forgetting the past. Oh, and did he have a past.  I think it would be safe to say, Paul was carrying around chains comparable to Ebeneezer Scrooge.  Yet, he was able to drop them and move forward in a victorious life as designed by God.  In verse 17-20 Paul calls us to join him and follow his example of living a life focused on Christ.  He follows that with directions to take note of those that are focused on earthly things for they are headed for destruction.

How do we keep from getting wrapped up in the details of life?  One thread at a time. Start small by making a commitment to drop one meaningless task for one task that God desires to be a priority in your life. I wish I could say I had this mastered.  I’m probably the worst at putting God in second place to common house hold chores.  In Luke 14-24, Jesus tells a parable of man who invited many to a supper, but the invitees had many excuses: plow the field, test oxen, be with a new wife.  So, what did the master do?  He sent his servant out to the highways and hedges to find guest that were willing to drop what they were doing and attend his dinner.  As I was cleaning my vacuum roller last night, I realized I am often too wrapped up in my priorities to set them aside and focus on God’s priorities.  I hope you don’t have to spend forty-five minutes looking at the underneath side of your sweeper to be reminded life should be lived for God’s purpose.

Author: Angela Grunewald

Just a mom/wife/educator who loves the Lord and wants to share my thoughts. View all posts by Angela Grunewald