DUST

Just what exactly is dust and why is it always in my house

You may ask how does a missionary's wife spend her day. Let me tell you how this one does. With a dustcloth in one hand at all times. I thought I was sent to the Ukraine, not Egypt. Every time I turn around there is dust on something. Is it just my imagination? Am I seeing things? Have I been on the field too long? Where are all my prayer warriors for this scourge on my apartment?

I dust in the morning and by the time I finish the dishes there is dust on the furniture again. I have tried wiping it up with a "dust rag" (after all, that is why they are called that, isn't it?). I have tried using furniture polish. This only makes the dust shiny. I have tried to vacuum it, but somehow it must come out the other end of the vacuum, and behind my back, settles on the furniture across the room. Take it from me - dust is sneaky stuff.

According to the dictionary dust is defined in the following way:

• Matter composed of fine particles, such as earth or pollen.

That seems to be a fitting description. It's small and seems to have a mind of its own.

• Small particles of matter that are fine enough to be carried by the wind. Clouds of such matter.

Now we are getting somewhere. The only thing I can't figure out is how it gets in when all the windows are closed and we have no air vents in the room. Just where does it come from? How is it made?

• Such matter regarded as the result of disintegration.

Of what may I ask? Other than this obnoxious material my house is spotless.

• Earth, especially when regarded as the substance of the grave. The remains of a dead person.

Wait a minute! I do have a drawer in the kitchen that I can't seem to open. It feels like something is stuck in there. I wonder???? Maybe:NO! I hit my knees and pleaded the blood!

• Something of no worth.

For a brief moment I thought I had stumbled upon something. But then again, God made it so there must be a reason for its existence. I went to my Bible to learn all I could about dust. Did you know that dust is mentioned 108 times in 102 verses (KJV).

Here are a few of the things I learned about my adversary.

• Dust was a part of a curse. Genesis 3:14
• Dust is associated with death. Genesis 3:19; Job 34:15; Psalm 104:29
• Dust was mentioned in a promise. Genesis 13:16
• Dust was a plague. Exodus 8:16-17 (You're telling me!! It still is.)
• Dust was associated with disease. Leviticus 14:41
• Dust was a punishment. Deuteronomy 28:24
• Dust was used in mourning. Joshua 7:6; Job 2:12; Revelation 18:19
• Dust was required for repentance. Job 42:6
• Dust represented judgment. Matthew 10:14; Luke 9:5; Luke 10:11
• Dust brought forth life. Genesis 2:7

Ah! There it was. What I had been looking for. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground:" Thank you Lord. I knew there was something you wanted to teach me.

The reason I am on the mission field is not only because I am required to go where my husband is directed by the Lord but because of a burden I have for the lost souls of this world.

Dust represents people and people need a Saviour. So each time I see dust I think of the lost souls of the Ukraine and pray that through our ministry we can see many come to trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Gotta go, I need to dust!

SUSAN TODD