Oh, the bliss of a hot shower! I step out into a warm, moist room and look at all the bottles on the sink counter. Baby oil, to wipe down that dry, dry skin that comes with the passage of years, face moisturizer to keep the wrinkles at bay, deodorant to ensure I don’t offend anyone, mousse to mock the prairie winds, that can make me look like a witch without a broom…and I haven’t even got dressed yet.
I recall a TV series I saw years ago that showed a family attempting to live a century ago. It was a real challenge…none of the aids to better living that I had on my counter. I also recall it was the young kids that coped and the teenager that didn’t. We get used to our perks pretty quickly.
My assortment of lotions etc. made me think about what we add, or should add to our Christian commitment to God. He knew we would need some helps and did advise us to meet in groups for fellowship. Prayer, music, studies are all helps we need to keep our Christian souls intact. Sure, we can come home from church feeling as refreshed as I did this morning after my shower, but it takes a short time for those little mini sins to start scratching away at our Christian skin. Unless we add a few restoratives, it isn’t long before we find we are getting irritable and eventually we can become downright miserable.
I had that happen last week…my body was all oiled and protected but I got hit with some personal stuff that took the finish right off my faith. I reacted badly to an unkind word, then my computer was sulking and would not perform, my outside garden tap sprung a leak, a big leak, the TV obviously reacted to all the negatives in the house and decided to get in the act. And the list goes on. It was a blue, blue Monday and it took me 48 hours to pull myself out of the mess.
I recall years ago being angry at someone and speaking to a minister about it. He said I could have 48 hours to be angry and that was it! After that I was just indulging myself.
So my 48 hours is over, the sun is shining and I have had a good chat with the Lord. He is so patient with me. The tap is fixed, the computer up and running and the TV responding to my monitor and to top it off several very nice things have happened. God never forsakes you and sometimes he surely tests you, but this morning both body and soul are clean, oiled and ready to operate. So watch out, here I come!
