At the risk of sounding like the witch from Hansel and Gretyl, I have been asking that question quite often in the past few days. Here's the story:

I decided to re-do my kitchen; not knocking out walls, etc. (I did that several years ago) but TOTALLY clean everything and sort drawer clutter, paint all cupboards that weren't attached to the walls, re-paint the countertop, and several more things. I am going to list them, not because I am trying to impress you but because it is pertinent to this story.

I scrubbed my refrigerator. You know, the kind of cleaning that requires all shelves and bins be removed, washed and dried. I scrubbed the inside of the microwave (if anyone forgets to put a paper towel over food being heated, I might have a coronary) I used Kilz on a spot on my ceiling, painted the countertops, scrubbed inside of drawers, cleaned oven (I do not have a self-cleaning oven) and racks, washed every utensil and knife in my kitchen (I don't own a dishwasher, either). I vacuumed, mopped, painted a portion of each cupboard drawer and door, removed all bric-a-brac from shelves and washed it, washed windows, and shutters...ugh. I painted the hood to the stove 9after I removed the fine layer of grease attached to it.) You get the idea; if it wasn't nailed down or permanently attached to a wall, it was scrubbed or scrubbed and painted. I realize some of you do this cleaning every week or two.....not me. I clean my refrigerator every 6 months...makes you want to eat at my house, doesn't it?

Every single thing in or on a surface was moved to the dining room table for a few days. I even sewed a new valance for the window below the transom (yes, I have an old house.)

As I was cleaning and sweating and rearranging, I was thinking  how similar my kitchen was to my life. I don't REALLY, THOROUGHLY, clean my heart and thoughts every day. I give it a 'lick and a promise' by asking God for forgiveness of the sins I can remember for that day. I don't think about the ones hidden and forgotten,  like the dried-up apple I found behind the crisper drawer in the refrigerator.

When it was all done and everything was back in place, I was so proud of it, I nearly burst. I just stood and looked at it.

My grandson came home and before he could say anything, I asked, "So, what do you think?"

He looked around and said, "Well, it all looks nice, but honestly, Grandma, it really doesn't look that much different."

You know, he almost had to pick himself up off the floor. I'm kidding....I realized he was right. I knew how much cleaner everything was, but to someone just looking around, it probably did look about the same.

Back to my analogy: when I ask God for forgiveness for all my sins; the forgotten ones and the ones I'm not even aware of, and I make a commitment to scrub some of my bad habits,  I know how much better I feel, but my friends probably don't notice.

The next step, of course, is what happens now. I have threatened anyone who might even consider getting something out and not putting it away again. Pick up every thing you use, wash it and put it in the cupboard; cover things in the microwave, pick up every crumb.

To say I am being a bit tyrannical could be an understatement. However, the kids know... and I know... at some point, I will be in a hurry and crumbs won't get cleaned up. The shelves in the door of the refrigerator will eventually look like they did prior to The Great Cleaning.

AND...my newly-cleaned life will fall back into old habits and poor choices. Then I will have to start over again. God knows we can't be perfect and he also knows we continuously make mistakes, even though we try hard. He always forgives us and encourages us to start over.

*For right now, don't leave a crumb on the counter, ok?

 This was doing nothing to help my morning, especially since I still had not tasted my coffee. It smelled great, as it was running onto the counter and then onto the floor. As always, I was barefoot, so I was doing a little jig trying to keep it from landing on my feet and still trying, unsuccessfully, to get the danged thing to stop making coffee. Yes, I did hit the 'off'' button, but evidently, it takes a while for the brains of the coffee maker to get the message.

So, half a roll of paper towels, wet feet and wet floor and I still didn't have a cup of coffee. I proceeded to make a new pot, waited until it was done brewing (my momma didn't raise no dummies) and, at last, was able to savor the wonderful taste of my first cup of coffee in the morning.....or maybe it was mid-morning by now....all the while muttering about pause mechanisms.

As I read my devotions, I became very aware of God asking me about MY pause mechanism. Was it functioning or was my life 'running all over the place?'  Hmmmm......I have to admit I don't pause too often. Yes, I stop to smell the roses, as the old saying goes, but that isn't an actual pause with a purpose.

I am a list maker and usually make my list of things to accomplish the next day right before I go to bed. When I open my eyes, my first thoughts are usually about the things on that list. I do start each day with bible reading and devotions, but as soon as I'm done, I am off to accomplish something. If I would pause for a few extra minutes; not necessarily praying or reading, but just sitting, thinking about my family, my friends; wouldn't my day be better? Possibly.

What about 'pausing' before making a retort to someone or before commenting on a FB post we don't agree with or before saying something hurtful or words we were supposed to keep confidential?

Years ago, Coke had a commercial tagline. It described the soft drink as 'The Pause That Refreshes."

I believe a pause in our days, our thoughts, our speaking and our rushing about might very well be refreshing; to our minds, our hearts and our souls.

Remember to pause for a few minutes tomorrow as you make your coffee and several more times during the day.

As many of you know, for the past 18 months, I have stayed with a 96-year-old gentleman every Monday for 3 hours to allow his wife, Shirley, a few hours to do what ever she needed to do.

On Saturday, July 26th, Ralph  Burgess left this world to live in his heavenly home. Shirley asked me and 2 others to speak at Ralph's funeral. While thinking about what I wanted to say, I decided to focus on the things I learned from Ralph.

Ralph loved his family and his Lord and although you may not have known him, I believe we could all learn a few things from Ralph and his many years of wisdom.

Below is a copy of my words.



I have known Ralph and Shirley for about 5 years, but for the last 18 months, I stayed with Ralph for 3 hours every Monday so Shirley could run errands, grocery shop or have lunch with friends.

It was during those 3-hour visits I really got to know Ralph. When he wasn’t napping, he was quite the conversationalist. We discussed events from his childhood, the Marine Corps, his working days and many other subjects. Between us, we remembered all the state capitals. One Monday, I made a list of the 12 things I learned from Ralph and I think we can all apply them to our lives.

1. Independence: Ralph didn’t give up. Even though he couldn’t see well, he continued with his daily routine. It would have been easy to say, “I can’t do it.” But he didn’t.
   
   
2. Eat a variety of foods. No matter what I fixed him for lunch, he ate it. I’m sure there were some things he didn’t care for, but he was a ‘clean-plater.’
   
   
3. Keep your memories alive. Not all of his memories were pleasant ones, but he still remembered the events and feelings and the lessons learned from some of those experiences.
   
   
4. Recall childhood. We should all remember to tell our children, grandchildren some stories from our childhood. What better way to know someone? I loved the stories about riding his pony to school and growing up in So. Dakota. He told me there were only 4 students at the school but then a family with 4 children moved in and the student body doubled overnight.
   
   
5. It’s okay to shed a tear or two about some memories. Ralph would tell the story and perhaps cry a bit but then move on to something else.
   
   
6. Be appreciative. He appreciated the things people did for him. I can’t tell you how many times, he said, “I don’t know what I’d do without Shirley” Sometimes we forget to tell people how much we appreciate them.
   
   
7. He listened to good music. The radio was always on with no commercials or loud noises. Some days, we would discuss the song or the singer. He could name many of them.
   
   
8. Have a few regrets. I don’t think we should dwell on regrets and Ralph didn’t, but occasionally he would mention something he regretted doing or saying. That’s okay; how else do we learn?
   
   
9. Keep your sense of humor. He would be talking about FDR and would ask me what I thought of his presidency. I would give him a hard time telling him FDR died before I was born! He always laughed and would say, “Oh yeah, I forget you’re not as old as me.” I’m pretty sure he did it on purpose but I told him I forgave him because he couldn’t see so well.
   
   
10. Routine: Life seems to function a bit better if we have a routine and stick to it. Ralph ate lunch at 1pm. Even if he slept in and ate breakfast at 11:30 when I arrived, he was ready for lunch at 1.
    
    
11. Take naps. Ralph did take many naps but I think the world would be a better place if we all took a few minutes for a nap each day.
    
    
12. Tuck the blanket around your legs. Ralph had a blue blanket and when he sat down in his recliner, he wasn’t comfortable until he had the blanket tucked in tight around his legs. We may not have a blanket, but if we tuck God’s love around us tightly, no evil or distress can get in.
    
    

It was my pleasure to know Ralph and my honor to speak about him today