Airbrushed sins

Today was a nice day...but oh so windy! David and I woke up to find Sean in our bed once again! ( any suggestions on how to get your 4 year old to sleep through the night??) So much for sleeping in. We tossed around the idea of "Golden Corral" and then decided it was a good idea..so off we went with our $4.99 buffet coupon in hand. The kids enjoy getting what they want from the food bar and always ending with ice cream. We headed out for Sam's, ran back home with our goodies, and then drove around looking for yard sales. Love a good yard sale! Didn't find one decent one today. Did stumble on one where an older mom and a 50's looking daughter were arguing about a tobacco pot ( have no idea what that would be) an if the one in the yard sale belonged to the mother or the daughter ( I smelled trouble brewing). The mom: "Is that my tobacco pot??" Daughter: "Excuse me, yours is in the building, that's mine. MOM: " Well, it's looks like mine" Daughter: "Well I beg your pardon, are you saying I stole your tobacco pot???".....errrr., well, you know, I really had no dog in that fight. All I was interested in was a Liz Claiborne purse I saw....I just left the purse...didn't want to disturb a good rue between mother and daughter! ( oh please!!)

David brought me home ( I have "blue" all morning..no real reason....nothing pleased me, David knew it, so I suggested that he take the kid with him to Lowe's for the new garden hose and misc. items and then find the park. I headed off to the nail salon. Ahhh...to be pampered. I don't do my nails much..this is my second time around with this new "self indulgence". For some reason when I can't do a thing with my body or my hair I can manage my nails just fine. I walked in, sat on the couch and skimmed through a magazine only to feel worse about my self after looking at all the Hollywood figures in their size 1 bodies. My Vietnamese nail tech motion that it was my turn and I saw down. "Ah, you nails healthy...they good..I trim for you...ah....I see you nails growing goooooooooood....I airbrush for you..hide the bad look underneath. " Alright..airbrush me all over while you are at it, I thought. She was trying to help me get a little more mileage out of these tips. One more visit and I think my nails are ready to "solo" without tips....I don't understand much Vietnamese...don't understand much of their broken English, but I do like to try to catch a bit of the conversation. Much of the time I just sit and think. I watch how they cover my nails and any imperfections with a coat of THIS and a layer of THAT, a buff here, a file there, and airbrush over the imperfections and a double coat of glaze to lock it in. I couldn't help but think of my "mood" today. Rather than dealing with the "why" of why I felt that way I chose to "airbrush over it" with a trip to the salon and a drive through STARBUCKS....to tell you what my mood was really like I abandoned Starbucks after a bought with impatience and headed to McDonald's to "airbrush" my mood with a sweet tea and fries. That should do it. But you know..it didn't. I drove in in the semi-better mood, but the underlying "reason" still hadn't been dealt with. I breathed a prayer of "forgive me Lord" and asked for help to work through my bit of melancholy and gain a joyful perspective about my circumstances. No more "airbrushing today"...oh, the pampering at the nail salon and the indulgence of Mickey D's works for a while, but just like my nails, if not dealt with, the imperfections surface again and we have to "hide them" all over again. Sometimes I think we feel God isn't concerned about the "insignificant" things we feel. WE don't want to trouble him if it isn't a big issue like health issue, or something major. Ever tried to share in prayer request with a group of friends " Pray for me, I feel down"...you get all kinds of "spiritual well-meaning" responses. I'm glad that Jesus never tires of our conversations with him and rather like to think that he delights in his children coming to him, even when it's just " You know Lord, I feel gloomy today, can you help"?? I like to watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition...Occasionally I'll catch an episode of the other one.."Extreme Makeover"...Sometime I need an extreme spiritual makeover. Funny thing is I'm not the best at makeovers in the physical realm..I've always said I'd love to have a personal assistant to pick out my clothes, do my hair , etc. I just don't do well. So , why do I think I'm any better at the spiritual makeover thing alone? Jesus is the best "advisor" I can think of to go to...really the only one with the "best" makeover advice and it's all in his Word.

I was reading another blog and I loved this post...so I borrowed it......read and then I'll close out below it....


One of the families that I clean for has a 6-month old baby boy, and he's adorable! Anyway, this morning while cleaning downstairs, I heard him begin to cry upstairs. He wanted his Mom. He was hungry. Or he needed his diaper changed. Maybe too hot, or too cold, or too tired, or too awake. Either way, he was not comfortable in his present condition, so he cried out. He instinctively knew that someone would come to him & care for him. Nobody had to teach him that, it is something God placed in him from the moment he drew his first breath. He knows that when he cries out, he will be comforted. He will be cared for. I got to thinking how remarkable that instinct is and how interesting it is that God put that inside each of us in order to take care of our basic human needs. He teaches us from the very moment we arrive on this earth to cry out in need. Initially to cry out for human touch, comfort & care. As we grow older & hopefully grow in our dependency on God, that instinct translates into our need to cry out to Him when we need to be cared for, comforted, encouraged, directed. Do we trust this instinct He has given us? His Word teaches us that, "In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears." 2 Samuel 22:7 Our Holy Lord gave us that in our basic human make up for a reason. And just like the loving arms of this baby's mother, God is there for us. He hears our cries. He wraps His arms around us...sometimes through others, and sometimes its just something you sense deep in your heart. He cares. He comforts. He loves us. And just like this comforted baby, we can then find rest.

Just like that baby, we are not always comfortable in our present conditions. Sometimes we know exactly why, sometimes we don't. I'm thankful the Lord hears our cry when we are in distress...and anyway...He can see right through the "airbrushing" so why not go to him first and get the true "Extreme Makeover" in our daily walk....He can truly transform us. I always like that part in the Extreme Makeover Home Edition where the family comes home and their newly constructed mini-mansion is already for them..hiding behind a big bus. The crowd yells "Move that Bus" and then all kinds of excitement breaks out because of the transformation that has occured. I'd like to think that after I go to Jesus for help with my "tudes" and other imperfections, that it's like a huge bus before me...all of heaven yells "Move that Bus" and what they find behind that bus is a glorious transformation that only Jesus could do in me. He's done it before....if I let him.