A Sow's Ear

For years, I’ve had acrylic nails put on my fingernails.  My natural nails will grow but they are so thin and weak that they break off down to the quick once they get to a certain length.  I usually have these fake nails taken off right after Christmas, just to give my real nails a break, and then have the acrylic put back on toward the end of March/first of April.  It was time for me to have them reapplied, so Saturday I did just that.  As I was sitting in the nail salon, watching Tracy perform this service for me, I watched as my short, ugly, unattractive nails turned into something pretty, clean, beautiful.  In about an hour she was able to transform my unsightly nails into something really very pretty.  As Tracy worked, I began to think of other things that can be changed by covering them.

It’s been said that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.  While that might be true, I believe that you can probably make a purse out of pretty much anything, even the ear of a pig.  Bedazzle the heck out of it, and it might turn out to be pretty cute!  But in the end, when it’s all said and done, what you really have is just the body part of a pig, covered in jewels and sparklies.

What about something else…..what about…..sin?  I was reminded of that old hymn:

“What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.  What can make me whole again?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

I looked down at my nails.  One hand was almost done, and Tracy was starting on the other hand.  As I stared at the completed hand, nails covered in acrylic, buffed and polished, they were beautiful.  I thought "that’s what Jesus’ blood did for me".  It covers my dreadful, wicked, sinful self, so that when my Father looks at me, all he sees is the blood that Jesus shed, making me beautiful, making me worthy to be looked upon by God Almighty.  In about 3 weeks, I’ll have to go back and see Tracy, so that she can fill in the gap between my cuticle and my nail, caused by my natural nail growing. 

When I was in college, I was in a trio.  One of the first songs we sang was “The Blood Will Never Lose It’s Power”.  The first verse says:

The blood that Jesus shed for me,
way back on Calvary;
the blood that gives me strength
from day to day,
it will never lose its power.

Just like these acrylic nails cover the imperfections of my natural nails, the blood of Jesus covers my sin – no matter what I do, how much I get off track from time to time, His blood never loses the power to cover my sin, and to make me acceptable in the sight of God.

For this, I will be eternally grateful.  For this, I will praise Him all of my days.