Sparkling Clean

Does life ever leave you feeling heavy and dirty from the trials you face, the mistakes you’ve made and/or the pain inflicted by others? I sure do. It can be hard to bear and hard to get rid of. It feels the same to me as going to bed dirty after a long, hard, hot day of work.

I hate going to bed dirty. If I’m covered in dirt from gardening or paint after working in my studio, or if it’s been a hot sticky day, I just need to feel clean and fresh to be able to rest well.

You may not have this kind of weather, but let me tell you about what it’s like living on the Hilo side of Hawaii Island (commonly known as the Big Island).

- the rest of the story -

In our normal weather patterns, we get warm sticky days with softly cool nights. The sky is scattered with gorgeous white fluffy clouds that come and go. But even on the nicest days, almost like clockwork, right about 8:30, we get a downpour of rain. It can be so loud on the metal roof, we have to pause our conversation or TV show!

Sometimes it rains off and on through the night or even constantly most of the night. In the morning we wake up and our world is covered in raindrops that sparkle in the morning sun. Everything has been washed by the heavens overnight. The leaves and flowers are covered in shimmering raindrops and the air smells fresher than words can even express.

When I feel “sweaty and sticky” from the difficulties of life, I long to feel this type of freshness. Sometimes my troubles make it feel like I’ve gone to bed night after night without showering off the grunge of the day.

Unlike physical dirt, it’s not possible to just get rid of the difficulties and pain that come our way just by washing them down the drain. Some of us deal with long term illness. We can manage it, but we can’t wash it away. Others deal with generational trauma or personal emotional pain so deep we can’t “just forgive it” and have it never impact us again. Some of us deal with depression so stubborn it’s like a stain that can’t be removed. And yes… many other types of pain - loss, grief, anxiety, disappointment, loneliness and more. You get the idea. I’m sure you can already name the “grungy” thing that clings to you.

But when it’s not physical dirt we can just shower off, what can we do?

Someone in the Bible felt this way. He says of himself and his companions “we are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but are not destroyed.” [2 Corinthians 4:8-9] He goes on to say that his present troubles are small and short in comparison to the big picture of life and eternity.

When I was in High School, my best friend and I played tennis every morning and evening throughout the summer. When I first took up tennis, I would often swing and miss the ball. I learned quickly to keep my eye on the ball until my racquet had connected to it. But then, being so focused on keeping my eye on the ball, I had a problem with getting the ball to where I wanted it to land so I developed a technique where I finished each swing pointing my raquet at the spot I was aiming for. Over time, muscle memory allowed me to prepare for the swing, but I could actually take my eye off the ball and still have a great stroke. In fact, it was at this point my game took off as I focused more on the landing point, and less on watching the ball in front of me.

The writer of Corinthians isn’t suggesting we ignore our problems or pretend that they don’t exsist. He’s very clear that troubles will and do come, even in his own life, but struggles in our lives often draw and hold all our attention. Just like I couldn’t ignore the tennis ball but I also couldn’t let it be my main and only focus, so the same goes for the difficulties in life. If we want to avoid despair or feeling crushed, abandoned or destroyed, we need to learn to take our eyes off our current troubles, and look at the comfort, joys, solutions and cleansing we will experience in eternity with Jesus. If we focus only on the struggles we will miss out on the wonderful things that last forever.

So in that light, let me share a few things that help me experience the freshness of a Hawaii morning:

~Thankfulness

As I have told children in my letters from Aunty Mellie, “Being thankful won’t take away the hard things. But thankfulness, WILL replace some of those bad feelings, and help to bring some happiness back into your heart.”

Things I am thankful for are not always in front of me or easy to see. Lately, my brain has needed some help remembering and focusing on them, so I’ve begun to keep a journal. I’m writing down moments I will forget later and adding pictures of people and places that make me smile. Opening this journal and looking through it or adding new entries helps me avoid feeling abandoned by God because I am reminded of all the beautiful things He does for me.

~Scripture

Things in front of me often lie and I know God’s word is the only reliable truth. Time spent reading the Bible reminds me of the important truths that I am unconditionally loved that I am fully forgiven, that I am valuable no matter my situation, and that I have a purpose for being here - even when life is messy. No need to be crushed and no need to despair. If you don’t know where to start, try Ephesians 1:4-10. You’ll find all 4 of these truths and more! If you don’t have access to a Bible, message me and I’ll make sure you get one!

~Praying for others

So often, the things I see before me are my own needs which threaten to destroy me. As I pray for others, it takes my eyes off my own troubles and reminds me there is more to life than just “me”. Taking the idea from a movie about Mr. Rogers, I am keeping a small notebook of names. I periodically read through the names slowly, lifting each one up to God.

~Find a Peaceful Spot

Nature is my peaceful spot. It calms me and washes away the struggles of the day. Things that enhance my peacefulness are not only the sounds of nature, but scents and gentle music. You might think that living in Hawaii, I was always out in nature like being on a vacation. But the busyness of running two small businesses, along with chronic illness, meant that some days I forgot to even walk outside! Now, living in the Arizona desert, many days are deadly hot. So I’ve designed a sitting spot inside, looking out the window with nature paintings on the wall and, scented wax melts next to my chair. Where is your peaceful spot? You may have one, or you may need to create one. Either way, take time each day in a peaceful spot.

These things help me to feel “freshly showered”. They clean off the dirt and lift my eyes away from my own temporary problems. It’s like an evening rain in Hawaii, leaving my heart and mind with clean sparkling raindrops.