Blessedly Unclogged

Truthfully, it is hard to see the wonder in a clogged sink. And in case you're wondering, yes, my kitchen sink is clogged. And I have no dishwasher. And a whole bottle of Drano didn't work to unclog it. So...........I have a counterful of dirty dishes and a clogged sink and instead of washing those dishes I am sitting here blogging. Avoidance? Yes, indeed. But here's why...........

Since starting this new blog I've been praying for God to give me guidance in the words I write here, guidance to see things more clearly, to see things as He would have me see them. And tonight when I arrived home at a little past 10:00 pm from my MOPS Christmas party, the first thing my eyes landed on was a counterful of dirty dishes. Not exactly a sight to pick up your spirits after a full and busy day. While I was away relaxing with other moms at my party, my husband had moved our dirty dishes to the basement countertop (right by the door where we enter our house) so they could be washed downstairs. As he explained, he was not able to wash the dishes yet since he was watching the boys. OK.......... My little one was still awake, so I put him to bed and was planning to get up and go downstairs to tackle the unwanted, but necessary task of washing the dishes. Instead, I lingered a little longer in my little one's bed. I relished those few moments of peaceful relaxation in a darkened room, cuddled under a cozy quilt. And my mind wandered, thinking about the sink dilemma. Amazingly, I was able to see the situation in a completely different light. And that's why when I got up, I headed to the computer instead of reaching for the dishsoap.

I thought about the literal clog we are dealing with. How the water eventually gets through the clog if you wait long enough, yet it doesn't drain fast enough for the sink to fully function. And then I thought about the figurative clog that gets into my heart sometimes, making it difficult and laborious for God's love and intentions for me to fully sink in. I reflected on the infinite patience our loving God has, waiting for His Word to penetrate so we can accomplish His will for us here on Earth. And I thought about all the THINGS in my life that can cause me to get too clogged up to let God in. Things like deadlines and to-do lists, scurrying from here to there, taking on too much, and just generally pushing God aside or, worse, trampling right over Him in my frenzy to "get it all done." How much more smoothly would my life become if I work to make my heart "unclogged", allowing God's love to run freely and easily through me?

If you are reading this and feeling clogged, I invite you to consider what it is that is clogging your heart. For some, the list may be similar to the one I listed above. For others, your figurative "clog" may result from your struggles with faith in general, your lack of belief or trust in a loving God, or any number of other things. Regardless of our personal beliefs about God and faith, I think we can all benefit from trying to become less "clogged" and more open to what life has to offer. Please join me in my attempts to unclog by posting a comment with your thoughts. I would love to hear from you.

Gotta go................dirty dishes to wash!!!!!!! Maybe by the time I write my next post my sink and my heart will be blessedly unclogged.

Edited at 12:06 AM on Dec. 11th, 2008: Here's a very cool thing. After writing this post I headed downstairs to wash the dishes, just like I said I would. And guess what? DH (dear hubby to those of you new to blog lingo) stood down there and helped me, even though it was way, way, way past his bedtime!! (I'm the night-owl of the house. When else would I do all this stuff?) What a great guy. Thanks, honey, if you're reading this. Love you!!