I'm watching a magnificent storm come towards me. It is quite a moment to capture, as I sip my cup of chilled water, now causing a frozen tundra to shoot down my esophagus into the abyss of my digestive system.
Water is a mystery to behold. I can't get my mind wrapped around it. It has a way of touching things and clearing them out. Its like all of the world gets a nice, warm, bubble bath when it rains. Minus the bubbles.
Let me backtrack a little bit.
The first words that I heard when I woke up today were, "JORDAN!! You're going to be late for work! Get your butt up and take a shower!!!". I know that doesn't seem like a restful start to the day, but its what I heard. Was this the voice of my mother? No. A sibling? No. Myself? No. But it was a voice and I heard it. Now, was it an audible voice? No. Call me crazy, I really think that my special Friend speaks to me through my thoughts, and I'm finding that it is mostly telling me to just do whats responsible, whats right. What an adult should be doing.
Like brushing my teeth, for instance. Let me tell you, I consider myself a pretty decent human being when it comes to personal hygiene. I enjoy the freshness of a hot shower and smelling like the mixed potion of lavender and chamomile--all with the secret knowing that my powder fresh armpits are ready to triumphantly march full force into the battle of the day. It is quite delightful. I feel better when I smell good. Fair enough? But let us not discuss my armpits.
Teeth.
My parents always instilled in me to brush my teeth. They did. All the time. But I will say that I got into the habit of not brushing my teeth before bed, only in the morning. Lets be real, I don't want to knock anyone out on my way up the elevator to my office by, in all good intentions, chirping a swift "Hey, how ya doin?" and killing them with severe dragon breath. That would not make me any friends. And being the hippie, youngster on my floor I need as many congeniality points as I can muster. I've considered it, and I think hygiene is a good start.
So my Friend has been really thoughtful by making some reasonable suggestions in the hopes that I will listen and better my life. For instance, like whispering a nice "Brush your teeth, please.." just as I'm about to doze off into the land of dreamsical mountains and unicorns. Each time, I tell you, I grumble at this lovely encouragement, peel myself out of my new Ikea sheets, and head for the bathroom.
But as the days go by, I'm finding that being disciplined in the small stuff is exactly what being an adult is supposed to be and I'm beginning to make wise choices in the handling of the small stuff. And for past two nights, I've beat the Voice at its game, by reaching down for my sparkly gray toothbrush and scrubbing away--before I'm beckoned.
Now, I've always been the "stick it to the man" type of person. My goodness, the words"kiss it" were what I painted as the summary of who I was in high school. Literally. My senior classmates and I were all given the opportunity to write on a wall in our school, with our finger-painted hand prints included. We were encouraged to write whatever we wanted to leave as a lasting impression of who we were, what we were about, etc...a memo, if you will, of what the "best years of our lives" looked like for the coming generations. And what did I write?
"Kiss It."
Oh, yes. I did.
I think that if I had a little more chutzpa I would have included a photograph of my middle finger shooting off all innocent bystanders. I was a rebel with a true cause. My cause was to let everyone know how little I considered their opinions, view of me, like of me even. I didn't care what you thought and, you better believe, I was gonna let you know it.
----I'm so glad that I met God----
So let me get back to my point. I'm finding that obedience in the smallest stuff is what makes my life so much more rich and colorful. Doing whats right, I'm finding, is the most freeing experience. No matter how much I dislike being corrected, waking up with a clean mouth (and heart) feels, well, really good. Its like that toothpaste flavor in your mouth that lingers all day long. Even when I eat something to cover that taste, it will still be there when the clouds depart. That's my comparison to obedience. Even if I screw up a little, trip on my feet, step on a kitten, my obedience in the small stuff refreshes me all day long. I have a clean conscience, a clear mind, and my armpits are still ready to wage war...
But only when they smell good.
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