Car Wash

Because we have been given the use of this car, the Avenger, which makes me feel young, thin, and pretty ... and because I want to keep it in good condition, honoring the ones letting us use the "sweet ride" ... and because I am too lazy to get the bucket, sponge, and water hose out and do a little manual labor, I took my Avenger to a car wash.

A fresh faced college student took my money and washed the bugs off the front of the grill.  She then directed me to a line of white cones that led me to step two:  the wash.  Another college student directed me to align my tires into this metal conveyor belt thingy.  When my tires were perfectly aligned, he told me to put my Avenger in neutral, the machine would do the rest.  A tiny bit of unexpected panic washed through my bones.  After realizing I was safe, I recovered.

Going through the sudsy water, red cut up fabric that spin in constant circles violently slapped the car.  After another round of suds, I realized this process was nothing to fear.  I wanted a clean Avenger.  This was the necessary process to get the desired outcome.

Just when I thought I had reached the end of the wash, an unexpected blue, fuzzy, spiny thing appeared to softly skim the entire surface of the Avenger.  I couldn't see.  I knew I was nearing the end so I fought back the tiny bit of "O.M.G." and trusted the mechanics of this auto cleanser.

I suddenly emerged with a clean Avenger and another college student wiped off any excess drips of H2O the blower thing didn't dry up.  It was over.

The adrenaline rush ... the unexpected turns ... the out-of-the-blue surprises ... the knowing I was going to come out the other end but not knowing when ... the being in neutral ... and then the final result made me think of a modern day parable of following Jesus.

I want an outcome - to be like Him.  I have a process to follow - life.  The real kicker comes at the beginning - aligning my life and putting it in His hands.  I so often want to jump to the end of the process but don't get my "tires" on the conveyor belt.  I want to zoom through the wash when all I have to do is get those "tires" into the conveyor belt ... and He does the rest.

a little scrub here, a little wash there ...
christina