Monday, May 30, 2011

Clean Sinks...A Small Victory...




May I share something personal?

{Clean sinks.}                   


My heart is bursting with praise and gratefulness. Tears... yes over... clean sinks~


I have these (once beautiful) cream-colored porcelain sinks. They are so hard to keep

clean.... to get clean. Hard use has scratched the surfaces and there are even some chips

around some of the edges. But they are very deep and practical for large bowls and pans

for large family meal preparation. I still appreciate them, though they aren't as pretty.


__________Do you ever get really discouraged about small things? To me, it's

discouraging to spend time on something that doesn't seem to bear much fruit. Can you

relate to that? Most of the time I don't let it bother me. I appreciate a clean house but I am

learning not to stress over imperfections. Even so, when things seem to be piling up, the

silliest and smallest of things can seem to be magnified.


We were preparing to travel to my daughter's graduation in Phoenix. I had not been very

motivated to get the usual pre-trip cleaning done. (We all enjoy returning home to a

clean and orderly nest.) The family had been working on getting our music together

to share at the senior center, there is writing to do and so much to learn about blogging

and it's time to tie up the home school year.


Daily maintenance along with extras and the unexpected had left me feeling a little

overwhelmed. I had been looking at those sinks all week thinking how desperately

they needed a good scrubbing. I had been bleaching them for a very long time,

but it just didn't seem to be doing the trick. So why bother?  Because, it's my job and

I want them to look nice for my family.


____________________Upon deciding to tackle the job, I collected

the bleach, a rubber glove and a rag. The job takes 5 to 10 minutes. As usual, the

results were less than desirable. Seeing some black scratch marks, I decided to apply

some Bar Keeper's Friend. (If you have never used this slightly abrasive powder

with bleaching agents, you really should try it. It works great on stains and can be used

to polish coins, clean stove tops, pots, pans and all sorts of surfaces. It works great on

soot-blackened dishes and all sorts of items that you may want to salvage from a fire.

(Our home burned in 2005.) It can even be used very gently on fine china.)





As I applied the cleanser along with some elbow grease..well.. what do you know?

Off came the scratches and stains! I was so excited! The sinks were almost completely

restored to their original color! Bright and clean!


_______________________    Now, I don't get really into cleaning

like some do. Shining and polishing the refrigerator and stove. I work at clean, but

wiping every fingerprint off the microwave and cabinet doors is not what I do after the

kitchen is finished up. But I had been disappointed in these sinks since they had been

installed so I was very encouraged and pleased. The reason that it came as such a

surprise is that I had tried Bar Keepers Friend before and it didn't clean it as I had

expected. In combination with the bleach, however, it worked marvelously!


It was a small victory but as I have grown in the Lord He has enabled me to

appreciate the minor details of life . The reality is that life is made of more small

victories than big ones. In my life, it reflects the ONE who is

helping me on the journey of contentment and gratefulness.


Beyond the sink.. There isn't a tremendously deep spiritual truth behind this little

story; it was a nugget for me to treasure. Sometimes I forget that I serve a God who

is so connected to the hearts and souls of His children. It is His delight to reach

into our days. He helps bring circumstances into perspective and touches even

the smallest of things that matter to us though they may seem insignificant to

others.


Remember, through the ins and outs, and ups and downs of your day, that He has each

strand of hair numbered and you can reach out and grasp His hand at

any given moment. If  something matters to you, He has already considered it.




Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you
 have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can't be declared
back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are
more than can be numbered.
Psalm 40:5



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