A few years ago our dentist demanded that we get one of those fancy sonic toothbrushes. The kind that are crazy expensive with replacable heads. This was quite a jump from our usual dollar store toothbrushes but with the dental problems we each have, we decided it was worth it.
The first time I used the sonic toothbrush, it felt like I was brushing my teeth for the first time ever. I hadn't realized how the traditional low tech toothbrush left so much gook on my teeth until I felt the smooth surface of my newly cleaned teeth. Wow.
Now, we are still cheapskates. We use the replaceable heads for way longer than we are supposed to and I am always searching for a bargain on them. The last set I bought was a store brand and they worked differently, but we still used them (too cheap to take them back). We have probably used them for a year and last week I ordered a new set from online.
Night and Day. Using the new toothbrush heads was crazy. I didnt realize how weak the other brushes were until I used the new ones. It was that squeaky clean feeling again that I had had the first time. Awesome. Made me wish I had switched a year ago.
Lent is the deep clean of our hearts. I get hung up on the fasting, the church services, teaching my children all I want them to learn. But when it comes down to it, we are letting God get in there and do the hard work of wearing off the accumulated layers of gook in our hearts. Its not like I gamble and shoplift and pillage the rest of the year. But I forget, I get lazy, I give into the weaknesses of my human nature.
Like plaque on the teeth, it doesn't get built up in one day and it doesn't go away in one brushing. Lent is a journey, a process. It takes us through valleys and darkness and makes us stand in front of the mirror and see ourselves as we really are. Which isn't always a pretty sight.
But it eventually takes us up to the mountain. We become the "people of the cross" as we face our Savior and receive the spirit of humility and brokeness that is our only way to the resurrection.
We will get there, so lets get started.
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