Saturdays Without Showers

Today we have a dear friend of mine sharing a little something with us. You are in for a treat!

Here is Joshua

"I'm Joshua, right-handed, curly-haired, and artistically inclined.  Guilty as charged.  I am committed to Christ, and everything I am stems from loving Him and trying to love and serve those around me."

(Read more about Joshua)

Recently I have been waking up either to birds mating outside my window or to the lovely demolition sounds of a house being torn down across the street.  This past Saturday it was the demolition.  So I rolled out of bed and plodded down the hallway and into the shower.  After my head was already full of shampoo and my hands lathered with soap, I suddenly noticed that the water pressure was becoming increasingly weaker.  Not good—especially when you can’t see!  Finally the water just stopped altogether.

I stood with my eyes closed for a good five minutes trying to decide what to do.  And being the crazy mountain man I think myself to be (and am actually not at all), I rinsed my hands off in the toilet and flushed.  (I know, I know—but desperate times call for desperate measures.)

The water didn’t refill.  There was no water in the apartment.  Happy Saturday to me.

After a very frantic, soapy, and embarrassing morning, our landlord finally diagnosed the problem (ah, the pesky demolition!) and got our water back on.  But in the 30 minutes that we had no water, I actually got a little freaked out.  I couldn’t take a shower, couldn’t brush my teeth, couldn’t wash dishes, couldn’t refill the water for our Britta filter to drink…  And that reality scared me!  Having nothing to drink, at least, is no laughing matter!  For that moment in my privileged, white, American, male life, I could identify with developing and under-developed nations that have no water… and the immense daily fear that must come with it.

I am not subsequently called to Africa to dig wells, nor am I planning some inspired trip to a desert tribe with thousands of bottles of water.  BUT…in the middle of my panic, the Lord reminded me the beauty of having a “soft” heart.  A heart that is empathetic.  A heart that feels and seeks to understand.

I have found that you either have a soft heart, or you have a hard heart, but there can really be no in between.  What kind of a heart do I have?  Do I have a heart that ignores, seeks my own good, or refuses to get involved?  Do I have a heart that is even too proud to realize its own condition?  Or, is my heart considerate of others, willing to serve, and gentle?

So that is a step on my journey to having a softer heart.  And if I learned nothing else, I am training myself to take faster showers JUST in case!

Be sure to visit Joshua's blog, which will inspire you, challenge you, and of course make you laugh.