Washing my car

This afternoon I went to wash my car.
The tire slid onto the track squealing and squeezing into place.
Slowly the mechanical belt lurked my car forward.
Water blasted all around,
Soon soap came down like manna from heaven.
Pieces of sturdy clothe bounded off the car,
I guess washing away the dirt,
while I sat silently in my car staring out the window.

What if washing away the broken and battered pieces of my life was so easy?
Sometimes we make church out to be a weekly car wash.
But like my car where the grime and pollen of the world quickly congregate,
So too for my soul.
No I need something from God more than a quick soul cleanse ever week.
I something from God more than a drive thru or a filling station.
I need a grace to sustain
when the muck and the mud fly around.
I need a love to strengthen
when the world gets too much for me.
I need a presence that promises to stick around
when the messiness of life stirs and swirls around.

I need this more than once a week or even every few weeks.
The hymn writer was right,
"I need thee every hour!!
Most gracious God...
Come quickly and abide"
Don't leave...and help me not leave you.

Abide...that is what a quick car wash can't provide.
Abide is at the heart of who God is and where God promises to stay.
Even, especially, in the messiness of this one precious life.

But now the trip through the car wash is done.
Yet, maybe the truths I learned on the ride won't vanish so quickly.
So I pray.

Grace and peace ~~