In helping patients cope with their excessive angry moods, I might suggest methods to redirect their anxiety into more positive activities. Anything aerobic is a remedy, but I think I stumbled about a more innovative solution. I will recommend to all my patients to “wash windows.” I had volunteered to wash an old home with its 30-year-old pane glass and screens. This household task was a lesson in humility.Many years ago while visiting patients in the hospital, I met a man who told me that he was a professional window washer. His secret for getting windows bright and clean was “dirty water.” I thought he was teasing but he explained that the grime that came off the windows as you washed them served a useful purpose. The grit that accumulated on the window over time served like a mini-scouring pad to clean the windows even better. The dirt actually helped to make the windows bright and clean.
Despite this tip, the job of eliminating the streaks on these windows was exasperating. The sun does not lie and as it shined through the dining room window. I would always find another streak that I had missed. I took down that window at least a dozen times before it passed the test. I began to rethink that this household task might either cure "rage-a-holics" or worse, make one raging insane. In the process of cleaning these old windowpanes, I discovered that in addition to “dirty water” a stronger solution of ammonia would help to eliminate any streaks.
There are situations in life we keep making the same mistakes. The same habits plagued our personality despite our promises to change. In the process, we drive ourselves nuts trying to rub out the streaks of pride, greed and selfishness. We promise to exercise, eat healthier or let go of our addiction to a variety of grimy behaviors that keep us from being a responsible and caring person. Honestly, there is a lot of grime in our buckets of life that has accumulated throughout the years. We may want to dump our bucket of grime down the sink, but the Lord has a different solution. Simply put, He wants us to add His life and spirit into the mix. As I added more ammonia into the solution to help eliminate those annoying streaks, God wants us to add more time for Him to get rid of the streaks that prevent us from shining with His love.
After I had washed those windows, I had noticed on the following day that one small pane had some smudges on it. What gives! It turned out that the family cat had jumped up on the window sill to admire the squirrels on the trees and in her excitement rubbed her nose on the window pane. Maybe, we need to rub noses with our Lord more often to admire His goodness and help us to let go of the grease and grim that clogs our lives.
The Lord prays for us as we reflect: “From you let my vindication come; your eyes see what is right.” (Psalm 17:2). The New American Bible
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who deny that the windows of their life need a good scrubbing. We can barely see through the panes of glass that are filled with the grime and grit of life. Help us to add your grace into our solution so that we humbly shine bright in your presence.
