Who's Living in Your House?

We're home! After a very long day of traveling, we got in yesterday. It's good to be home.
Don't ask me if I've unpacked yet. I'm getting to it.
Since my hubby is a pediatrician, the only way we can travel for extensive periods of time (longer than a week) is if he
brings in a locum. Sometimes a locum doc will bring his or her family, sometimes they come alone, but they always
stay in our house whilst we're gone. Unfortunately, the cost of hotels are too great on the island. It's also good to know
our house isn't sitting empty for any length of time. However, things don't always go smoothly in this process.
Over the last few years we've been pretty fortunate to find the house in good shape, but I remember one year, while we
were still renting a tiny cottage before we bought our home, we came home to a red (formerly gray) carpet - covered in mud, a dishwasher full of dishes with coffee grinds caked on everything, and a dead fish in the refrigerator, oh, and mold everywhere.
Yes, that was fun.
So I value people who respect my home and its contents. Of course there are always the little things, like dishes in the wrong spot and the cutlery not quite the way I like it, but those are minor complaints.
But as I sorted a few things out last night, I started thinking about our 'houses' - the physical ones.
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19)
How many of you ate or drank far too much this summer? Me and I have the rolls to prove it. Of course I didn't mean to, but a steak and a fine Merlot on a cool summer night as the sun sets over the lake...well, you know how it goes. Don't forget the blueberry pie and the best ice cream in the world made at Kawartha Dairy.
I tried to justify it by going for long walks, but somehow I still piled on those extra pounds. I suppose it's a sensitive subject for some people, but I've always believed in being healthy and watching what I put into my body. Overeating can be a way we abuse our bodies, just my opinion.
We also have to be careful to take care of our minds, which are part of the body. I can't count the many times I've told my kids over the years, (and hubby too) "Garbage in, garbage out." What you watch and listen to can have a direct result on the things that come out of your mouth or the thoughts that filter through your mind.
When we're not in control of our 'houses', when we forget we're not alone in this world and we really can't do all the enticing things we think might be okay if nobody's looking, the dirt piles up in an alarming manner. When we give ourselves away in an unhealthy manner, our lives can head into a tailspin quicker than an approaching hurricane reaches land.
Those kinds of messes are a lot harder to fix than a cutlery drawer with a few knives in the wrong slot.
I was grateful for a few things being in the wrong place today as I thought about all this. And I'm grateful too, that I'm not alone. I can change the things I do that aren't good for me, I can hopefully lose a few of those extra pounds, but more than that, I can immerse myself in the Word, and really rely on God to guide me in every aspect of my life.
After all, He's living in my house, right? Something tells me He's the only perfect houseguest out there.