This will be my 38th year of keeping the spring holy days. And every year, all of the holy days are just as exciting as they were when I first learned about them.

There is a lot to do in preparation for the spring holy days. Shortly before sunset, on my first Passover, I opened my cabinet, took out the baking powder, the baking soda, and a partial loaf of bread. I said a prayer and then took that small bag outside and threw it in a dumpster.

Years ago, God had saved me many times when I cried out to Him in prayer. My life had been in danger many times. God had taught me that I needed to change course and walk in the path where Jesus Christ leads. The Bible became not just a nice book to me, but the primary source for what God is teaching us. And everything that God has taught me is just a complete joy!

I now seem to have less desperate pleas for help and more confidence in God that He will help us in all things. But I have learned that I must be more aware than ever to watch and prevent attacks from our enemy, and from my own self. Sometimes, I recognize that leaven (sin) is still in my house!

And so, that is how it is. We work hard to get all the leaven out of our houses before the Days of Unleavened Bread, because for that week, leaven pictures sin. The older I get, the slower I get. And so now, I do not take out a small bag of leavening the evening before and merely throw it in the dumpster. I start cleaning about a month beforehand.

I start by wiping out cabinets a little at a time, and placing all of the leavened products that I find on one counter. Then when it is before sunset, for Days of Unleavened Bread, I make sure I have disposed of the symbolic sin. I've cleaned the floors, emptied the toaster (the best I can), and many other little things that I can think of where the physical sin might be lurking. And this all takes time—how symbolic that is!

But the most important of all the physical things I've learned is to place much more emphasis on spiritual preparation than on the physical preparation. We have to factor in that there are going to be small, and big, emergencies to distract us. This has been a rough year.

The most important thing we can do is talk to our Father, through prayer. We cannot neglect Bible study—sometimes quality is more important than quantity. We have to also make time, somehow, for some peace. Meditating on God and His ways makes a great peace and calmness in our hearts.

These are just some of the things I've thought about off the top of my head today, as I do my own preparation for Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. I'll take a few minutes each day this week to write more.

Meanwhile, I hope and pray that God will bless you in your preparation too!