Well, I usually take my shower at night, but the other day (after an early Sunday morning jog, thank you very much) :), I chose to have a shower in the morning, and because of that, I noticed something about our bathtub drain: it doesn’t work!!!

Now, that really shouldn’t be super-surprising to me because, well, for weeks (OK, let’s be honest here, for months!!) this dirty, brown, disgusting layer of grime has built up along the bottom of the tub and slooooowly crept up along the sides — ewwwwwww!!!

It is definitely growing and getting worse (and I know this because, well, of all three shower options in the house, THAT is the one I use) and so, I had seen something was wrong. But this past Saturday (the day before the jog — can I bring up that achievement one more time again, please???) 🙂 it was my daughter’s 14th birthday, and one of her weekly-and-oh-so-dreaded-duties is this: to clean the bathtub.

Now me, being a VERY good mother, 🙂 said I would do it in lieu of her special day. (Wasn’t that nice??) 😉 So there I was, Saturday morning, bent over the bathtub ledge busting my guts, trying to: 

1) Wipe away the grimy layer with said soft washcloth (and P.S. it was not budging) 

2) Then bringing out the sturdy scrub brush (but it still didn’t make a dent!)

3) And finally, after a solid effort, giving up in short-term defeat and hiding the grime behind the shower curtain.(P.S. NOT KIDDING!! SEE the “Masterful Mom” skills you can acquire by 40, hmmm??? LOL!!) :):)

Well, I DID go back and chip away at the job later on Saturday and got the MISSION COMPLETE, so where IS this early-morning-Sunday-shower story all going?

Well, the TRUTH was that after all that time, after all that effort and after all that energy to remove all that grime on Saturday, I went and showered again Sunday (POST-jog, yup, HAD to say that, one more time.) 🙂 And wouldn’t you know, ANOTHER LAYER had begun to build up! 

What?!!?? Had NOTHING really changed after all my diligence!!!

How disappointing, how discouraging! How dis-”covering”????

Now, WHAT does she mean by THAT!?? Well, as I stood at the sink brushing my teeth Sunday after the shower, I noticed a small background noise: a gurgle, dribble, and burble-like sound coming from the drain, and as I looked into the tub, I realized, well, the water wasn’t really going anywhere (or anywhere fast), and all the “goop and grime” I’d washed away on the tub SURFACE Saturday was re-gripping the sides and bottom again! UUGGHHH!!!!

I realized that just because I’d removed the surface GUNK (aka the grime I could see), the REAL issue was deep down inside somewhere else: the drain. 

Whoa! Lightbulb moment!!! The TRUTH has been revealed, and it’s TIME to get on with the REAL SOLUTION (aka put away the scrub brush and stop investing all the time, energy and effort it takes to use it week after week) and bring on the Doctor Plumber (aka My 16-year-old son Hunter)!! 🙂 

YES, with ONE mighty PULL on the PLUG, POP! The removing of the DEEP-DOWN-GLUG was achieved, and POOF! Issue resolved! We may again shower in safety. LOL!

But all kidding aside, what this little bathroom “escape” made clear to me in a REAL-LIFE LIGHTBULB MOMENT was how often I do just THAT in my own life (and maybe YOU in YOURS???): how I see, look at, and attack the surface “grime” — all the while, totally missing the “real issue,” the ones DEEP down inside, in a small dark-drain-like space, somewhere in our BRAIN where a set of “beliefs” aren’t exactly matching up with GOD’s. And this, my friend, is where it seems might be where our REAL “issue” lies. 

PHEW! Have I EVER used a lot of time, effort and energy working on the wrong things — the surface things, when, well, HE knows deep down what “SOUL-SCRUB” my heart needs — each and every day.

And so, rather than get distracted by the surface GRIME, I am committed to hanging with HIM each day — digging into HIS word first, letting HIM “PULL-the-PLUG” out of my HEART-PLUG before the GRIME can even get in, build up or bog me down.

It is a CHOICE, and I have learnt MINE the hard way. But, that’s partly why I am here — to let HEAR all of my mistakes. 🙂 And maybe, just maybe, you might CHOOSE to make a different choice in your day — Today. But not just based on what I say, but what GOD’s WORD does.

Thanks for your TIME today, TEAM — Remember, we are ALL in this together.

Be Bold, Be Brave, Be a Beautiful Woman of GOD!

Carol 😉 

P.S. And BE here next week for some more of Carol’s crazy escapes, where I will share how plastic spoons and foot care cream teach ME a solid lesson in life — for real!! 🙂