I’m not sure what’s going on, folks, but it seems the older I get, the more I’m enjoying tub time. I suppose it’s possible that it’s a second childhood kind of a deal but to be honest, I’m not sure the first one ever really ended.

Whatever it is, even without a rubber ducky or a plastic Tuffy the Tugboat, I love soaking in the tub. Seems like the hot water just sort of eases both body and mind and even gives the spirit a little recuperating time.

At the end of this morning’s stint, I sat upright with my legs stretched out, feet against the opposite end of the tub, legs slightly bent, and popped the plug. Concentrating in a rare moment of mindfulness, I was aware of the warm water receding, exposing wet skin to cooler air. I knew the instant when a small spot on the back of my left calf first touched the bottom of the tub. Then the right calf. I felt the weight transfer as the water receded and my flesh began to bear its own weight. Finally, as the last bit of water drained out, all sense of relieving support was gone. Back to the reality of life, so to speak.

We have those times in our lives when we feel the full lifting of the Spirit, a calm but buoyant faith surrounding us. Hope resonates throughout every part of our awareness and being. We walk in complete assurance of God’s purpose and presence in our lives. Perhaps, then, there are the other times.

We feel the full weight of each step, the whole of our bodies driving down through one foot and then the other. We may even feel as though the stone is turned to sand beneath our feet. Maybe even turned to mire like the bottom of an old woods pond that hasn’t been dredged in eighty years. All the silt and half-rotted leaves offer almost no support and we sink in the slime up to our knees.

In those times, we might need to reconsider whether we’re walking where we are supposed to be walking. Perhaps we’re trying to force our way through the swamp when we should be waiting for God to show us a better path. Maybe we temporarily abandoned our walk of faith and substituted our own judgment for his guiding.

And, it’s also entirely possible that we may be at one of those times in our lives when God is up to something else. It could well be that he has placed us in a time of different experience. A time that will remind us that even when we may feel that we have drifted away from his presence and his leading, he is still guiding our steps, still shaping our souls, still preparing us for the eternal abode.

I am quite certain that God never intended that we spend more time soaking in the tub than we spend walking in his will.

H. Arnett
5/13/20