The Dust Bunny From Hell

The other day Connie says to me that the refrigerator is leaking under the freezer side. I hopped right on it - after about two days and two more mentions by her. So I roll out the fridge, which was new just over six years ago, and I begin to check it out. It had been a year or so since I last had pulled it out to clean beneath it. It was a bit dusty so I pulled out the vacuum cleaner and within a couple of minutes it was taken care of. But then realizing that the “leak” was from the frontal region I, for the very first time, pulled off the front lower plastic grate and was totally amazed at what was starring at me. A king sized dust ball had formed over the last six years all around the cooling element. It took me a half an hour to vacuum and pull and wedge all of the dust out from the radiator. It was gross. (My wife will really be impressed with this entry)

As I lie there on my side pulling the nasty out from under the fridge, it occurred to me that I had never addressed this issue before. The machine had to work way harder than necessary to keep our food cold and with the recent heat it seemed like it was constantly chugging away. I think that our lives can be just like this. Areas left unattended suddenly begin to suck the life right out from underneath us, sapping our energy and freedom in Christ. A creepy little sin that we ignore for years all of a sudden rises up and bites us in the butt. We find ourselves thinking in ways that are not right, or taking extra long glances, or wondering what kind of life we would have with that person. Left unchecked, unaccounted for, these seemingly harmless “habits” will one day kill us.

Get help.

Seek someone out to trust with your “dust bunny from hell”.

What we really need is Jesus.

Nothing else even comes close to satisfying our soul.

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O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Dead Eye

Have you ever looked into the eyes of someone and noticed a difference? Eyes that normally have been full of life and twinkle, but now are deadened by life’s harsh realities. It is almost as if life itself has been sucked right out of them. Deeply saddened eyes where hope is gone and their reality is strangled with a cloud of despair. On occasion, for a moment, the pain is forgotten by a smile or the visit of an old friend, then the certainty of the pain returns as quickly as it departed. Guilt follows with its grim reminder that you don’t deserve to be happy. Confusion abounds. The once easy life is gripped with indecision on every front.

The question you find yourself wallowing in is “why?” Why me? Why now? Why this? Of course there are other lingering thoughts like: How long will this last? Can I go on another day? Will I ever feel normal again? Grief is weird.

It was hard last weekend going back to my father-in-laws place near Harrisville. The drive was fine for the most part but as mom, Connie and I got out of the car all of the emotions came racing back in. Mom almost took an hour before she could go back into the home she has known for almost ten years. We all cried and remembered outside while we were looking at flowers that had sprung up around the yard, occasionally pausing to wipe our saddened eyes.