Lord willing, in less than three weeks, I'll be sitting in my newly renovated apartment with new appliances and new floors in the kitchen and bathroom as well as new carpet everywhere else. I've been getting ready for a month or so, doing some much needed reduction of junk and paper. Without bragging too much, I've made progress as well as putting a game plan together for the day of remodeling. I've cleaned out my closet, pulled all my books off my coffee table and book shelf, packed away all my pictures and mementos which are not on the wall, and met with my advisors on the event, Rosemary and Lee Martin. Although I have always been low key about my living arrangements, I have to admit I am looking forward to having a nicer place.
I can date the last time any real major work was done in here. It was ten years ago this coming July. I would not recall, probably, except they finished shortly before our father had the stroke which ultimately took his life. Funny how we date things, isn't it? But as the day of my new carpet, which they have told me will be grey, approaches, I find myself less concerned with the condition of my current carpet. I'm vacuuming as I get ready for the change but spills and stains don't bother me anymore. Several years ago, I left a bag of grapefruit on the floor next to my kitchen- you know they don't refrigerate them in the grocery store- and of course, they leaked. Grapefruit juice leaves permanent discoloration on fabric so in the meantime, the spot has been covered by a strategically placed waste basket. But now? It's like the old Alfred E. Neuman from MAD Magazine- What, Me Worry? A couple of guys from Sherwin Williams are going to roll it up, carry it away, and toss it before my next rent check is due so what does it matter? It's on life support...and no one in my apartment is weeping.
As we get older, we come to grips with the decline of our physical bodies. We see it happen in our aging relatives but it's different when we see ourselves in the mirror. Things we did easily become harder and aches and pains last longer. There is a difference, I think, between health concerns and appearance worries, but we try to stay as young as we can for as long as we can. But maybe with the onset of a bit more spiritual maturity, the inevitable won't be quite so devastating. In 2nd Corinthians 4, the jars of clay chapter, Paul reminds us in verse 16 that the bodies we inhabit are so temporary: we are outwardly wasting away as he puts it. This earthly existence is such a blip compared to our eternal inhabitation in the heavenly realms. So what if our hair loses its youthful tint or our muscle mass declines each year? There is a new and far greater form awaiting us when we enter the presence of the Almighty! And while we might wish we look more like we did in our high school pictures, except for the hair styles, we know in the not too distant future we'll be thrilled beyond imagination in the reward planned for the followers of Jesus Christ. I can live with current me because I know there will be a brand new me, just like I can handle the coffee residue and the wear and tear that goes with ten years of footprints. It's going to be made new shortly. And then I also will be made new.
Applicable quote of the day # 1:
Watching a child first learn to crawl on a carpet somehow has more significance to you as you get a little older. Perhaps it is that you have suffered more.
Tobin Bell
Applicable quote of the day # 2:
Let's not push it under the rug, or push it to the side because, no matter what, it's going to keep coming up. You know, if you never deal with that dirt up under the carpet, it's going to get larger and larger, and it's going to keep coming up.
Herschel Walker
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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