Cars...

Washing cars was never my strength.

More often than not, if my car gets a bath, it is because of the most recent rainstorm.

But I spent a couple of hours the other day washing cars, including mine.

I absolutely hate washing my car.

I love spending time and energy scrubbing and rinsing, and relishing in the beauty of the finished product. But I hold with great disdain the thought of identifying, and ultimately agonizing over, the blemishes that mar the appearance of my vehicle. They are no more than everyday dents and dings that accompany regular car use. Nonetheless, I don't want to know or have to deal with them.

I stumbled upon this realization in the middle of my dreaded chore. Wet and soapy from head to toe, and a bit frustrated that what I thought was dirt was actually scrapes, scratches, and dings, I wondered how many times we run from God for the same reasons. How many times do we sit in our filth because we think it would be easier, even better, to stay dirty than to find out that our dirt is hiding imperfections (or that our dirt is not dirt at all)? After all, it is easy to pretend that there are no imperfections if they are hidden and we don't have to deal with things that don't exist.

But if we don't know what is marred, how then can we fix it. I know that you know that I know that God knows all of our dirt, scratches, and dings. And God has offered us a way to get clean and deal with those wounds. He will heal those wounds. If we don't deal with them when they are small, they will only continue to grow bigger and cause more problems.It is not fun to go to God with all of our mess. But He is a gentle and full of compassion. And will clean. And will forgive. And will heal.

When was the last time you washed your car?