cleaning

I haven't been very active on this blog; therefore I have set a new goal. Get more blog posts up this month then I did in the previous month. I have eight days to write three posts. It got me thinking. What to write, what to write? Initially I thought that I would have an easy time coming up with things to write about. My brain is a continual flow of many thoughts, and I can never stop writing in letters. (I have written over 15 page letters before; wouldn't you like to see a post that long.) However, it is impossible to write for me when I do not have inspiration.

"Everybody needs inspiration." ~Miley Cyrus

You may wonder where and when I get my inspiration. It always depends actually. Sometimes when I am driving a thought pops up in my head of what I can write about. Other times I can not sleep and a blog appears completely written out on my eyelids. Imagine that, it's pretty wierd. As I stare at the ceiling, as I drive the endless miles to work, as I wash the dishes, as I mop kitchen floors and scrub out the sinks. Many times I don't even know what inspired me to write. However most of the times it is the hours I spend cleaning bathroom floors and other places in the house that blog topics or random phrases walk into my train of thought and keep me thinking.

Cleaning is one of my hobbies. It has not always been like that. I used to despise it, perhaps because my mom required me to clean the bathrooms years ago. I clean for other people, I clean our own house, and I often have urges to clean when I am in other places. I am as crazy as wanting to hanging picture frames straight when I am in an office somewhere or dust the shelves in a store. I know, it's pretty nuts, it might creep you out, and don't worry about that, because it creeps me out too at times.
Anyway, as I was cleaning today another thought popped up. Why not blog about cleaning?! I mean I do it just about daily, either in my own house or some other place. It is a regular past time activity of mine, and it gives me lots of time to think. To think about life, about decisions, faith, family, holidays, weather, future, food, reading, who knows what I all think about.

Today it was actually about sin and the cleansing that is offered to sinners.

Even though I enjoy cleaning a lot it sometimes frustrates me. I clean for half my living (sound wierd, I have two different kind of jobs, cleaning and teaching. Cleaning is half my income). ANd do get sick of it at times. It is not that the cleaning itself drives me crazy. It is me that drives me crazy. As I am cleaning my brain thinks,

'really, what is the point of this? As soon as someone showers the shower door is splattered and splashed on again. As soon as someone uses a plate it gets dirty again. As soon as someone touches the doorknob I just cleaned and disinfected, it will be infected and unclean again.'

I then need to come to my senses, call myself back to real life. Whenever those thoughts enter my mind I make them go away. I don't like thinking that way. Why not, you may wonder. Well because it makes me negative. It makes me feel useless, and wonder if I am wasting my time cleaning.
How do I make them go away?
I go back to Christ. He gave us a living example. He washed the feet of the disciples. Not only did He wash their feet, He washed them in complete. The Gospel of John writes about this in chapter 13. Peter asked the Lord, 'dost thou wash my feet?' Peter thinks this is crazy! Why would Christ wash our feet, He is the Master. But Christ responds, 'What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me'(vs 7,8).

Christ washed the feet of His servants, His children because He knew what was to come. He knew that we need the cleansing power of His blood. He knew that without Him we would never live. We would never be part of His Royal family. Without His cleaning we can not live. He not only died on the cross for us to wash away our sins, but He continues to cleans our sins. Each time He forgives our sins we are washed clean. Completely. Washed in the blood of the Lamb. Christ continues to wash our sin away. He never gets sick of it. He never doesn't want to do it. He does it because He loves us!

When I don't feel like cleaning I pray that the Lord will give me the same joy in cleaning that Christ has when He cleaned/cleans my sins away.

Titus 3:4-6 ~

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

the hospital

This past January I broke my left wrist, and spent many hours in the hospital.

Today, while working out, I twisted my right foot. Again I spent many hours in the same hospital. In the emergency room. As I got there, an ambulance arrived, and another and another. I told the RN it was okay that I'd to wait a bit. You know, those people that came in with the ambulance (3 in total), were probably in a far worse state than I was.
Little did I know when I said that, that would be spending more than 4hours in the emergency unit of the Lacombe hospital. The waiting room was full, for about two hours with the same people. Everyone was bored, hungry (it was supper time), and starting to get just a little bit impatient. So was I.

You know, I always thought I had patience. But first 2 hours in the waiting room. Finally I was allowed to go to an examining room. I sat on the bed. Lied down. Sat up. Read some fast car magazine. You know, read every word on every single machine, sign, poster that was in the room. Looking at the ceiling, counting the tiles. Well sorry, but how many things can you do while waiting for a smart man to come in who can tell you what is wrong.How many things can you do in an empty examining room, where someone on the other side of the curtain is breathing as if he just ran a marathon, or something like that? How many things can you do to entertain yourself while you're just frustrated with yourself for being clumpsy and always hurting myself! Grr.

I knew where it hurt, knew what I had to do, where I had to press for my foot to hurt more. Knew that I wanted to get help. But eh, the doctors have to eat too, Ill have to wait for that.
Then another RN tells me I can go to the X-ray waiting area. Okay, so I wheel the wheelchair over there (yes I cant really walk well at all), and drove circles around the waiting area. (I know know what it is like to drive a wheelchair around ;) I know it's quite the experience!) Finally the technician came (she didn't have supper yet either, and it was 8 o'clock. At least we were in the same boat in this matter). Got a bunch of pictures taken of my foot. (For some reason I am never allowed to see the pictures of my own broken body! I can never see how cool an X-ray looks. I remember back when my siblings broke their limps they even got to take their pictures home! Its no fair).



Back to the bed I went.. Wait for another long time, and find that there is nothing wrong with my foot.
Just weak ligaments. Get some physiotherapy if isn't improving too much. Keep the leg elevated,
take it easy for a bit. Oh and you can go home (AFTER FOUR HOURS! YEAH)

I know I shouldn't complain. Shouldn't complain about the four hours I spent in the hospital. Shouldn't complain about the slowness of the doctors. The easygoing pace of the RNs that slowly stroll the halls towards the next patient. I know I shouldn't complain about any of it. (Sorry to all those RNs, Doctors and other nurses, technicians, and all that work in the emergency rooms, I'm not trying to offend you, not mad at you.)
I'm just frustrated. You know, for hours in the Hospital, finding out that nothing is wrong. Talking for a max of 5minutes to a 3rd yr premed student(with the Doctor in the background), an icepack, and 6 pictures I cant even see, and then finding out nothing is wrong.

I'm thankful for that. For the Doctors, nurses, technicians and all those people who want to work in the health system. I am thankful for those men and women that put their life on the line as paramedics, firefighters, and other services. Thankful for the wisdom, the intelligence many of them have! Thankful that I didn't break my foot (I even had decided what colour of cast Id get next!) Thankful for all I do have!

If only the things in an emergency unit could speed up about, umm, 10 to 30 times! Then I'd be really thankful, and pleased with the services in the hospital. Right now it's kind of iffy. Sorry guys.

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." ~Romans 12:12