She turned the faucets on full blast and added her bubble bath. As the large tub filled with hot scented water, she slipped off her dirty clothes and stepped in. Warmth enveloped her, and she felt her chilled, weary body relax. Eyes closed, she leaned back and tried to let the day go - a day filled with disappointment and a dozen regrets.
Later, wrapped in a soft, clean towel, she watched the water swirl away - wishing all the things cluttering up her heart could be carried away with it.
Dressed in clean nightclothes, she walked into the bedroom. After pulling down the comforter, she placed the old sampler quilt at the foot of the bed, folded top edge up so they could pull it up if it got too cold during the night. She slipped between the covers; the scent and the feel of crisp, freshly washed sheets closed in around her. She exhaled a deep sigh - if only a messy life could be made new so easily.
In the darkness she whispered a prayer - an all too familiar list of wrongs and things undone. A single tear slid down her face and onto the pillow. She closed her eyes and longed for sleep.
The words of a song drifted through the darkness - one she had played over and over again during this Advent season. "He has come to make you new." * She slept.
Sunlight peeked around the corner of the blinds the next morning. Before swinging her legs out of bed, she closed her eyes and whispered a prayer of thanks - for new mercies, for the patience of a Father who had already given her everything her heart longed for, and for a heart made clean and new.
As we walk through this advent season - may we receive with outstretched hands the gift He longs to give us. Jesus came to make all things new; He came to make us new - right from the inside out.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3: 22-23
"And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold I am making all things new.' Also He said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'" Revelation 21:5
Blessings,
Linda
* From the beautiful song : "Mary Did You Know" by Mark Lowry
