Today has been a day of cleaning. We're going to be gone all day tomorrow - church, nephew's birthday party, life group - so I've tried to get as much done today as I can. We (meaning, my husband) are also re-doing our kitchen cabinets, and Mike realized that the new hinges he bought weren't going to work, so he went into town and exchanged them. While he was gone I decided to clean all the old ashes out of our fireplace. I carefully swept them up and put them into a trashbag. There were still a few ashes that I couldn't get completely, so I went out to the garage and hauled in the wet/dry vacuum. I plugged it in, turned it on, and started sucking up the rest of the ashes.
Before long I realized that there was a very strange haze all around me. I had no idea what had happened, but everything just looked foggy. I guessed that it had something to do with the wet/dry vacuum, but I was pretty much finished using it anyway, so I took it back outside. About that time my husband called. "I think I might have messed something up", I said. I told him what happened and he said, "Oh, I know exactly what the problem is. The filter that's on the vacuum now is for wet clean-ups. You need the one for dry clean-ups".
There are 2 different filters for this raggedy old wet/dry vacuum? Who knew? I chose that moment to take our sweet little dogs out for a potty break, and to get some air. As we walked down the driveway, I got to thinking about filters and how important they are. So many things we use every day require a filter be in place, otherwise the end results could be disastrous.
I stopped in my tracks. Holy Moses....another teaching moment for me. Maybe one day I'll be "on track" enough that God can just fill my blog post with an incredibly riveting story or some witty dialogue that I've had with a very interesting person. For now, it seems, I have a lesson to re-learn, so here we go:
Where do I need a filter? On my mouth, of course. My mind immediately went to Psalm 141:3, which says, "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips".
People that know me well will tell you that I can talk a blue streak. Most of the time what I say is interesting or funny or entertaining, but sometimes, what comes out of my mouth can be downright ugly: gossip, back-biting, complaining, mumbling under my breath, bickering, the list goes on. I know this happens with everyone at one time or another, but the truth is, the only person I'm responsible for is me.
In order for me to be able to live for God, to make even a slight difference, I must remember how powerful my tongue can be, and that a filter is required.
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