Pools And Dirty Water

I've graduated from the pool to the treadmill but look out for dirty water! This is from September 27, 2014!

I've mentioned before that I alternate swimming in my apartment pool and the one at my fitness club until it gets too cold, usually in November. The staff does a terrific job of keeping our pool, which is only thirty walking seconds from my apartment, in good shape. The water is clear and the pool area is kept clean. But on September 10, I walked down to get my time in and I found the gate chained. It's not unprecedented- it typically happens every other year or so that the chemicals get unbalanced and the water turns greenish. But when I passed by for my daily check two days ago, I found they were draining it and much of the bottom was already exposed. The hoses are inserted now and the water is flowing back in. No indication when it will be tenant-ready again.

Last weekend, ten days into the chaining, I stopped by the office and talked to Elaine, one of the awesome managers, wondering when the pool might re-open. I also offered my opinion that the water, in spite of the closure, looked perfect and sparkling clear. Elaine told me that she thought the problem was that several days of torrential rain had messed up the water. (That seems funny, doesn't it, that water would mess up water!) She agreed the water looked fine but that daily tests didn't lie and the water was contaminated, making it dangerous for swimming. I guess I'll have to just bide my time. At least I have a swimming option, unlike many of the other residents.

Elaine's words about the water stuck with me, the part about it looking good but being polluted. In one of His most scathing rebukes of the Pharisees and comparing them to cups and dishes, Jesus condemned the religious leaders for their inconsistency with their outward flawless appearance and inward filth. We can deceive the world with an apparent upright life but be polluted below the surface. And we know when we are like the swimming pool, appealing to look at but unfit for much else. Like the pool, our hearts are chained and held captive until cleaned up. That's why we are desperate for the blood of Jesus. 

  Applicable quote of the day:
"I grew up in northern California, where it was consistently in the hundreds in the summertime. My dad didn't think he should have to turn on the air conditioning when we had a swimming pool in our backyard; it was our built-in air conditioner."

Summer Sanders

PS: Not the pool at my apartment in the picture!

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com

E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com