Getting Cleaned Up

I was bathing my little dogs this morning, and a metaphorical picture began to form in my mind.

My little ones can tell something’s up when I start to gather the bath items. They get curious and come into the kitchen to see what I’m doing. But they figure it out real quick and their body language immediately changes. I look at them and say, “Ok, who wants to be first?”

Chloe will quickly head for her bed and Bubba is left at the head of the line. He knows there’s no use running away, so he hangs his tail and gives in.

They unhappily endure their bath. Sometimes it’s just a quick wash, but other times, it gets serious and thorough. But of course, I give them treats and love during and after, so it ends on a happy note.

When that water turns off and I begin to wrap them in the towel, their tails once again begin to wag, their temperament changes, and as soon as I let them down, they shake it out! Oh that feels good! They get excited, and are overcome by a burst of refreshed energy. They love that clean feeling!

So I got to thinking that when God needs to clean us up, we’re not always very happy about it. Sometimes, we resist, sometimes we try to hide.

But you know, we get to the point in life where we just need it. Maybe we’ve rolled in the dirt a little. We don’t really notice how dirty we’ve gotten until we start to get kind of stinky. We’ve lost that shine in our countenance. Our tails are dragging and we’ve lost our spunk.

After realizing that we need to reconnect with the Lord, we humbly come to Him and submit, and He cleans us up again.

It’s not always pleasant. He may have to scrub us good to make us shine again, but He gives us lots of love and grace and we realize how much we’ve missed His tender care.

And after He is done, oh, we are so refreshed and renewed. It feels so good to be cleansed by His mercy and forgiveness!

 Have mercy on me, O God,

    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.  Psalm 51:1-2

 

 

 

(Photo credit – Robin Abrams, publicdomainpictures.net)