What I Learned from the Rocking Chairs

One of the tasks that is always part of our spring cleaning is scrubbing the front porch rocking chairs.  Winter really does a number on those chairs and every spring they need a serious scrubbing.  This year that task was more challenging than usual.  At first I couldn’t understand why.  Then I remembered that the chairs didn’t get cleaned last year.

Last spring my husband and I packed up and moved in, temporarily, with his parents.   His dad had knee replacement surgery (at age 87!) and the resulting rehab, so we were there to care for his mom who has Alzheimer’s.  Our temporary move lasted much longer than expected, and one of the results of that “adventure” in our lives was that the usual tasks around our own home – like cleaning the rocking chairs – just didn’t get done.

The result of that neglect, however unintended it might have been, was that the chairs were really, really dirty and really, really hard to get clean.  In fact, in some cases the dirt was so deeply imbedded in the wood of the chairs that it just wouldn’t come clean, and even looked a bit scarred.

As I scrubbed those rocking chairs, it occurred to me that our lives are a lot those chairs.  The chairs are exposed day after day to all kinds of conditions.  To wind.  Dust and dirt.  Pollen.  Rain.  Chipmunks and birds.  The result is that the chairs are covered in all the “stuff” to which they have been exposed.  And that “stuff” leaves its mark.  Sometimes even leaves a scar.

Like those chairs, we’re exposed to all sorts of things as we go through our daily lives.  Attitudes.  Differing worldviews.  Words.  Relationships.  All sorts of things.  And not all of it is good.  The result is that, just like those rocking chairs, we get a little dirty and need some cleaning up. And, like those chairs, when the task goes undone, the cleaning becomes more difficult.

There’s a significant difference between us and those chairs.  We have a choice.  We don’t have to sit and wait for somebody to come along once or twice a year and give us a good scrubbing.  We can take action ourselves.

Think for a minute about all the “stuff” you’ve encountered just this week.  The attitudes.  The complaining.  The gossip.  Maybe some less-than-desirable language.  We’re exposed to all that – and more – every week.  From our co-workers.  From the person behind us in line at the grocery store or the coffee shop.  From the TV shows or movies we watch or the books we read.  From our neighbors.  Maybe even from our family members!

Whether we want it to or not, that “stuff” clings to us, becomes imbedded in our memory.  Just like the weather and the pollen and the dust cling to the rocking chairs on my front porch, bad attitudes and unkind words and negative attitudes and criticism cling to our spirits.

So what are we to do?  Walk around with blinders on and cotton stuffed in our ears?  That’s probably not a very good solution.

For those of us who belong to Christ, the answer to the question may be obvious.  We turn to the Scriptures for help.  While there are a number of passages we could turn to, let’s look at a few verses from one of my favorite books in the New Testament:

“But now you must put them all away:  anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”  (Colossians 3:8-10 ESV)

If you look back to the beginning of that same chapter, there is another specific instruction:

“Seek the things that are above, where Christ is…….Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on the earth.”  (Colossians 3:1-2 ESV)

If you remember anything your English teacher taught you, you will probably recognize this as an imperative statement.  In other words, it’s more than just a suggestion…..it’s a command.  In the Greek language (the original language of the New Testament), it’s a present perfect imperative, which means it is to be an ongoing action, a habit of life.

That’s how we deal with the “stuff” that would “dirty” us.  We put it away (another present perfect imperative) and instead focus our attention on “things above”.  It's a choice, really.  An act of the will, not of the emotions.  We choose to "put them all away" and to keep on seeking the things that are above.

The chapter concludes with some positive, encouraging instructions. 

“Put on then…..compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another….forgiving one another…..and above all these, put on love.”  (Colossians 3:12-14 ESV)

That’s what God taught me as I was cleaning my rocking chairs.  Scrub away ("put off") the dirty stuff of life and replace it with the clean stuff.  And when my focus is on Him and on “things above”, that other stuff, although it will come, won’t stick.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9 HCSB)

"to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word."  (Ephesians 5:26 HCSB)