I Vacuumed My Gloves!

Almost three years ago, I went on a road trip to Winfield, KS. I went with my friend Tara. We were going to go and visit Meg and a few others there. Tara and I had the greatest time driving up there!

Once we got to Kansas, we realized it was a lot colder. On Saturday, Meg, Tara and I went to Wichita. We stopped at the Old Navy. We found this great deal on gloves. 2 for 10! So, Tara and I bought a pair. My gloves were fleece and were very nice.

I had come back from the trip and that next weekend, I was going on another one with the Wesley Foundation. I was driving, so I took my car to the car wash. I then started vacuuming it out. I saw as I was vacuuming in the backseat, I saw my gloves on the floor. I leaned over and threw a glove on my seat. As I reached for the other, the hose caught the other one and like that, it was gone. I stood there holding my single glove and looking at the hose. Whoosh! There went the other one. It got sucked out of my hand. In like two seconds my gloves were gone.

This story is probably better heard out loud. It is rather comical and something that would happen in a sitcom. However, it’s all true. That is the story of how I vacuumed my gloves up.

This has been a crazy week. It has been one of many things: stress, business, and joy. It has been fast paced and it has been slow paced. I have been energized and I have been tired. One thing has been certain. It has been a week of exploration.

There have been times of questioning myself. I have been wondering who I am. What is my purpose? What am I doing? Why do I do that? There have been other questions…I am sure.

I’ve came to the conclusion that I am a person who strives to be a good person. As I’ve came to this conclusion, I began to wonder what makes a good person. I think if we look at the scripture 1 Corinthians 4-6, we can see how a good person should act through love. Love is what defines us and how we share this love makes up who we are. We are to be patient, protect, trust, hope and persevere. We are not to be envious, boast, be rude, or angered. We are not to keep record of wrongs. We are to forgive.

I wonder how we can do these things when we allow our lives to be consumed by the world. I know my life sometimes is over taken. I feel as though sometimes I lose control. My days are filled with going to the office, class, studying, Wesley Foundation, family, and friends. It becomes so stacked up sometimes, that I don’t allow myself that moment to stop and smell the roses, which is ironic.

As I keep going and going like the Energizer bunny, I feel as though I am pulling away. I feel disconnected from God, my family/friends, and myself. I am not allowing myself to be there for them. I close myself off to them. What good is that? How is that being good as I defined? It is not. What can we do to become revitalized? This week the scripture is John 11:1-44. Lazarus was brought to life. Over Lent, it is a wonderful time of being able to reflect.

It is very effortless to allow ourselves to be sucked up in this world. It is as simple as my gloves being sucked up in the vacuum cleaner. It took only a second of looking away for them to be gone. If we allow ourselves to look away for a short time - our faith can be sucked away.

We need to be aware and allow our faith to live on. As we have looked at themes of grace, renewal, and now resurrection, we can see how we should be living. It is not a simple thing to do. It is a struggle. Don't look away and watch out for the vacuum hoses out there!