Refrigerator Cleaning and Lent

I spent part of my day cleaning out the refrigerator. It was long overdue. Cranberry sauce forgotten in the back on the second shelf... a testament to the efficacy of preservatives... not yet molded... leftovers of all sorts and colors... almost empty packages of grated cheese... an over ripe cantaloupe... two kinds of gumbo and vegetable soup... magic potions and beer... it was an educational experience.
For those of you who have not yet cleaned a refrigerator, there is a proper way to do it. You start by unloading the top shelf. Always start at the top so any drips won’t fall on already cleaned surfaces. Use the cleaning solution of your choice. My mama taught me to use baking soda dissolved in water. Wipe down the shelf and the walls as you wipe off the bottoms of the containers. Replace what is still good and sift through all the items making sure to cull the inappropriate foods... ex. Dill pickles do not belong on the milk and juice shelf. Repeat until the entire refrigerator has been cleaned... take out the drawers and wipe them down... put all moldy food in the compost heap... do not feed to the dogs. When you finish, stand back and admire your handiwork. This is an important step because the next time you open the frig door, it will have transmogrified into its former state of messy glory.
Lent is the liturgical equivalent of cleaning out the refrigerator. There is an order to the Lenten season. We begin by considering the contents of our lives... recognizing and naming the moldy places in our souls... bringing them out into the Light and considering them. As we empty the shelves of our lives, we have an opportunity to re-shape... re-order... reclaim... re-name what is stored in the depths of our being. Not much fun... what we find can be overwhelming, painful. But like the refrigerator contents, until we see what is in there, how can we know what we have?
This season gives us the amazing opportunity to clean up and start over in our soul journey. After I name and claim my moldy spots, there is a chance to see if they can be restored... if I can scrape away the mold to the good underneath and have a second chance. So I am examining the state of my being this season for Lent. I will find some fun surprises... writing is forcing me to be a conscious soul... some nasty items... the mold of procrastination runs deep in a lot of items in my soul’s shelves. The process of examination and cleansing is necessary for my celebration of Easter.
There can never be new life without death. Around the farm I see this repeated every year. An old cow dies as a new one is born... perennial herbs die back in order to grow again... the pasture grass turns brown and withers away, resting until spring brings green growth again. We, too, must have a resting time... a time when we are not "up and running" so that our growth can be strong and true. And like the refrigerator, our souls will grow moldy again... our new green growth will turn brown... Easter does not last all year long.
"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope... But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it". Romans 8:24-25 I am waiting and hoping with patience ... thanking God for the rituals of Lent... a pattern for living and dying that lets us start over and over and over... like refrigerator cleaning.