The Journey Continues: A look back at dirt.

When Richard entered the hospital in May he was allowed to shower but was told that at some point his counts would be to low to shower.  This information was greeted with disbelief and much arguing. The nurse said it could cause sickness and even death if he came in contact with mold or spores from the shower head.  Richard then proceeded to tell the nurse that she was nuts.  The nurse addressed this statement through pursed lips that he would indeed follow the rules or else.   I am not sure what the what else would have been.  Richard liked to call her Nurse Cratchet after that, but never to her face.

The day came when those counts dipped below the point of no shower.  Richard endured this news with a scowl but seemed to accept his fate.  Then nurse Cratchet brought in a big packet of what looked like thick baby wipes.  She had even heated them up for him but the smile on her face made me think she was thinking of the rules.  Richard's scowl got deeper but he took the wipes.  The bad thing about the wipes were they just didn't make Richard feel clean.  He said he always felt dirty.

Then came baths in ICU.  They didn't come close to the cleanings that the wipes had done.  The 'baths' were done by the nurses and were supposed to be done nightly.  When Richard was alert and knew what was going on, he told me that he felt so gritty and grimy that he couldn't hardly stand it.  He remembers that one night his face would be washed, the next maybe his feet but never his whole body at one time.   He got a spot cleaning that left him feeling filthy.

His first full day back in a regular room I helped him bathe from head to toe while he sat in a chair.  The water in the pan turned dirty and even though we scrubbed off lots of dirt he still didn't feel quite clean.  The Dr. had said he was to unstable to take a shower but after several days of physical therapy, even some by himself, he was ready for that shower.  After that shower he felt clean.  It was such a cleansing wash that even his countenance looked brighter.  I think this was a turning point in his relationship with Nurse Cratchet.  He discovered she was not so bad after all and I even saw him smile at her.  It is amazing what a cleansing, purifying shower can do for a person!

I find myself so dirty sometimes that even a shower doesn't work.  I need a different kind of cleansing.  I might look clean but deep down in my soul I can feel the dirt.  If I let it stay I am so full of filth I don't like to look at myself.  My smile becomes shallow and weak.  I know the ONE who will give me that cleansing.  I only have to ask and will receive that cleansing shower.  He cleanses the whole me, not just some spots. Then my smiles start on the inside!  :)

Hebrews 10:22

New International Version (NIV)

²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.