Ask
any priest what they want for Christmas and you get the usual humble response:
“I don’t need anything but your prayers.” However, Fr. Matt’s weekly chores
around the house include vacuuming all the wood floors and carpets. Not a
problem except for the “sin carpet.” No, this is not a typo. It’s the “sin carpet”.
This oriental carpet has a beautiful weave pattern and a mind of its own. The
vacuum fails to pick up the kitty hairs and so I attach the chair
attachment, get down on my knees and brush the carpet by hand to get it clean.
This method works much better with a few choice words and the reason why I call
this my “sin carpet.” It’s a prayer carpet with a certain twist. It’s twisting
my body around because the beater brush just doesn’t do the job and pick up
kitty hairs.
So
what I want for Christmas is a solution to this backbreaking problem. The
family says take the carpet and the vacuum to the repair shop and see what they
suggest.
On
this snowy day, I walk into the shop of an “old fashioned vacuum shop.” I
humbly ask, “Is it OK to bring my oriental carpet into the store and show you
the problem?” The kind repairman
motions to bring it on. Vacuum plugged in, he immediately says the vacuum has
no power. He opens the machine and finds the filter and bag are OK. The
attachments are in good order, but then with the wisdom of a guru he says,
“this machine will never clean this carpet because it is not a motor driven
unit but air powered.”
No one
will tell you this at a box store because they don’t know the difference. A
motor driven unit is best for carpets and works stronger to pull the dirt out of
any carpet. He quickly demonstrates with a floor model and says: “go ahead and
clean your carpet.” With a few easy strokes, no genuflecting, no swear words,
the carpet was cleaned. Why don’t the salespeople tell you this when you buy a
vacuum. I went online in Consumer Reports and found no information about the
difference between a motor and an air driven unit.
The
kind vacuum man suggested to continue to use my canister on the wood floors. I
thought I had Dirt Devil in the basement that has not been used in years. He
suggested using the upright to clean the carpet and wait till my canister dies.
Then the next time, you need a new vacuum, make sure that it is a motor driven
unit.
Sometimes,
our sins seem to follow us around and we fail to clean up our life. Even on our
knees, we pray to God for help with our temptations, but we still can’t get rid
of those threads that make us feel dirty. Maybe, our machine needs a tune-up, a
motor driven (spirit driven) unit that will clean up our act. A spiritual
director like the vacuum cleaner repairman might help you clean up your life
and get rid of those spots.
A
motor driven unit not an air driven vacuum is the secret to getting carpets
cleaned. I never knew the difference. The sin carpet will become a prayer
carpet. When vacuuming, I will remember this kind man’s wisdom and ask God to bless
him and all who help us lead a better life free from troubles
that break our backs and frustrate our efforts to be holy.
Lord,
I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who struggle in prayer with any sin that
does not want to go way. Help us to persevere and remember that Advent is the
moment a Savior appeared to be with us and save us from all our messes
and fears.
Note,
I did not find the Dirt Devil in the basement. I forget that I donated it to
the Salvation Army this past summer. I wonder if it is still there?
