Monday, April 9, 2012

In Need of a Good Soak



Yesterday we were invited to a wonderful Easter meal. We had a blast. The food. The company. The conversation. Aces on all counts. When my friend and I moved to the kitchen to clean up some my eyes bulged as soon as I saw the dishes she placed in her dishwasher. Lamb, bits of potatoes (and man, were they yummy potatoes), and pieces of corn clung to the plates. Almost a full pat of butter decorated a knife.

“You can put these in like that?”

“Yep, that dishwasher will clean everything.”

“Wow.” I stood staring. In awe. And with wee bit of jealousy. Then I got to thinking. (Yep, can’t really stop myself.)

I have to practically scratch my dishes from here to kingdom come before I even think of tucking them in for the night in my dishwasher. Scrape until the plate is vulnerable to chipping. (No, this is not a story about dishwasher envy, although it very well could be.)

My brain clicked. (Ideas are like Tinker Toys up there.)

I’m like my dishes.

What?

I’m like my dishes. With my dishwasher.

I’m sinful (no big surprise there, folks). I’ve got all kinds of gunk that corrodes the way I want to live. It hangs off me like half-eaten green beans on my friend’s plates. I can’t just be tossed into a deluxe dishwasher and expect to come out with a Palmolive shine (just pop a check in the mail, Palmolive).

I’m a thinker. I reflect. I turn things over. I mull. I mentally tinker. I take the long road to repentance sometimes. More often than not I need a good soak.

I need to soak in the reminder of grace. In truth. In humility.

There is no get clean quick scheme for me. I’m that caked with crud.

Sometimes it blows my mind that anyone would ever bother.

Washing dishes can be such a tedious job. Your hands get that weird old person bumpy feel, then dry and flaky. Your back aches from bending. And grime gets all over your fingers. And then you have to do it all again after the next meal.

Sometimes it blows my mind that anyone would even bother.

But he did. He does. Over and over and over again.

When is the last time you were awed by something?



*photo by stockXCHNG

17 comments:

  1. I love the visual of soaking in God's grace. Thanks for this beautiful reminder, Wendy. Hope you had a wonderful Easter!

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  2. Wow, what a beautiful reminder on this Monday morning. I'm a very visual thinker, object lessons have always spoken to me and this is a great one. Thanks, Wendy!

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  3. Beautiful post, Wendy. :) I need that dishwasher, too.

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  4. Love it.

    I can so relate to this - "I’m a thinker. I reflect. I turn things over. I mull. I mentally tinker."

    At a Bible study, we were going around the circle and choosing an item that best describes us. I chose a crock-pot, and everyone looked at me like I was crazy. But I'm like you. My mind is always going, but it takes me awhile to process things. I wouldn't trade it. Who wants to be a microwave? Not me. ;)

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  5. Wendy, I know how you feel--I'm astounded at how gunky my soul gets on a daily basis.

    On the dishwasher end--ours died a year ago. We bought a new Maytag, and let me tell you, that thing can clean the grimiest dish! If you need a new one, try Maytag!

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  6. I love how you can see truth in the most unusual places, Wendy. Your cleverness knows no bounds.

    I'm a grimy dish, but I often attempt to do all the scraping and scrubbing I can on my own in an attempt to present a clean, polished surface. I call it playing God, and it bothers me that I fall into the trap at times. Comes from being an oldest sibling, take-charge person I say in my defense.

    What I forget when I'm in the midst of attempting to run the show (or dishwasher) on my own is that the Lord is there to wash me whiter than my Corelle winter frost white will ever be. All I have to do is surrender and let Him be God. He's sooo much better at it than I am.

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  7. I'm awed every time I sit in the audience and listen to the music at a concert. The awe never lessens, hearing the art being created, on the spot.

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  8. Wonderful post. I was awed by the sunrise this morning.

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  9. I love this, Wendy. I'll be pondering this the next time I put my fully-rinsed dishes in my worthless dishwasher. :)

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  10. Heidi, We did have a meaningful Easter. Relaxing & such.

    Julia, Thanks! I'm a visual thinker, too.

    Katie, Love back 100%.

    Jessica, Takes double the time washing my dishes with my washer.

    Keli, Yeah, I get that. I try to clean up on my own and somehow it mostly makes me dirtier than I was to begin with (more often than not). Thinking of you!!!

    Joanne, Love that feeling! Makes me want to buy tickets!

    Loree, When I was a teenager I became a little obsessed with taking pictures of sunsets. My mom finally had to monitor my camera use. Simplicity at its finest!

    Sarah, Good. The point will stick then.

    Thanks for swinging by on this sluggish day after Easter. Guessing a few folks are on spring break. Enjoy!

    See you Wed.!
    ~ Wendy


    Julie, Oh yeah, I want to be a crock-pot too. Say no to microwaves. :D

    Jill, Second by second for me. I'll have to check out Maytag. A classic.

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  11. "I take the long road to repentance sometimes."

    Can we two thinkers link arms and talk a while? I'm with you. :)

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  12. It's the end of the day. And I told my husband,"I'll be right there!" Because I just wanted to read your post before the end of the day ...
    and, seriously, I am awed by the way you think, friend.
    Thoughts that move.
    Too true.
    And thoughts that make me think.

    Another moment of awe: Every time I visit Patricia Hunter's blog. She is a Psalmist with a camera. No exaggeration.

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  13. Great analogy. I will think of this now when I wash dishes. I keep washing my dishes because I want to put them in my cupboard clean and I want to use them again. God wants to use us in this world and he wants to give us an eternal home in heaven where we fit in, where we won't get moldy and icky and carry all our gunk. Thank you, Lord, that you keep washing us! I am so grateful. What a wonderful follow-up to Easter, Wendy!

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  14. Wendy, what beautiful words (and yummy sounding meal!!). I think writers by nature tend to do just what you said: "I’m a thinker. I reflect. I turn things over. I mull. I mentally tinker." I love how a dishwasher started your writer's gears going that resulted in this post. Again, beautiful!

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  15. I so love this, finding a deep lesson on a plate full of garbage. You amaze me!

    I was awed on Easter morning, too, anticipating the soon return of my Jesus, to clean up the plate of this yukky world and make a new one. It's been awhile since that kind of joy stirred in my soul, and I reveled in it.

    Thanks for asking.

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  16. After reading this, I'll never look at a dirty dish in the same way. Great thoughts.

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