Gunk

Last Saturday I was washing Mindy's car. See, she and Doug (and Lauren) were in Michigan and I was house sitting for them. The morning before, I'd gone out to start up my truck and discovered I had a dead battery.

So Mindy graciously let me borrow her Durango, complete with a Hemi Magnum engine, moonroof and XM satellite radio. Yeah, I was livin' the high life. As I was running some errands, I noticed her car needed to be washed. Ok, really needed to be washed. And my first reaction was to run it through one of the automatic car washes. Save time. Save some hassle. Spend a few bucks and it'll do a decent job.

But then I felt one of the lessons of my Dad ringing in my head.

See, growing up I knew on Saturday morning I'd wake up and hear two things – the tinny echo of music on an outdoor radio and the splashing of a water hose. Because every Saturday my dad was in our driveway washing his van, my mom's car, my sister's Mustang and, in later years, my Mustang as well. That was his therapy, his time to relax and then, when he was done drying them, relish how nice our vehicles looked. He wanted our cars, and by extension us, looking "showroom new".

So the "Dad in me" urged me to take the time and "do it right". Wash it by hand, really scrub off the bug residue and the grime. Pick off the tar with your fingernails and, whatever the heck that gunk is on the back bumper, find a way to get that crap off too. And that's what I did for the next two hours. Go over her Durango from top to bottom, bumper to bumper and get it as humanly clean as I could. Not for bonus points from her or Doug, but because Mindy deserves a clean vehicle, as clean as I can get it – just because she's Mindy.

Now, I bring this up because sometimes I think a lot of us tend to want to hit the "five dollar car wash" in our walk with Christ. We'll give him five minutes here, or if we've got enough time, fifteen or twenty. Go to church. Do an Outreach. Help a stranger out when we can. And all that's terrific. But how many times in the past six months have you – have I – said, "Ok God, I've got some pretty grimy stuff to deal with and I'm willing to roll up my sleeves and work with You so this junk - these hurts, these disappointments, this fear - I want whatever that gunk is on my soul to be gone...done...no more...You and me, just tell me what I need to do. I'm here, I'm open, and I trust you."

Honestly, for me it's been years. So yeah, I'm gonna skip the automated "wash" and head straight into some honest scrub time with Christ her this weekend.

And that's what I want you to consider as well. Take some deep, soul searching time with God, roll up your sleeves and work with Him on some stuff. Start small at first. Grab a Bible study or book by a Christian author to aid your journey. Journal. Get gutsy and tell a friend, "Hey, pray for me about _________." Find a mentor who's been through what you're experiencing and ask them for advice. Whatever it takes, whatever the route, do it. Find it. Go. Because I don't want you spending one more day with "gunk on your soul". Not another second, it's not worth it. So take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, know Christ is willing to work with you and fight for you to set you free from your burdens. Always.

All He needs is some time and your effort and He'll make you new – showroom new – again.