Dirty Dishes

1:00 P.M. Ugh! “Time for work.” I mumbled. Dreading the mountain of dishes that faithfully awaited me, I walked through the cafeteria door and glared at the ever-growing pile. I pulled a dark blue apron over my head and tied it behind me. Looking at the front of the apron, I groaned. The morning crew had used it, and dried breakfast remains were encrusted all over it. Walking over the sink, I started spraying the dirty dishes. It never ceased to amaze me how many different disgusting mixtures people concocted with their food. Different colors combined on the plates, leaving an undefinable sludge. Ewww, why can’t people leave their food alone?  Then, my work supervisor told me she wanted me to dry and put away dishes instead. I stomped over to the pots and yanked them off the counter, making a loud clang. I marched around the kitchen, banging dishes and feeling angry at the world. “So,” said a sweet, cheery voice of another café worker, “How has God blessed you this week?” I faked a smile and came up with some stupid, shallow reply. Not letting it drop, she pressed harder, “What have you been reading in your devotions lately?” Oh no! Why can’t you just drop it? What do I say?  My mind raced. I couldn’t tell her that I hadn’t had my devotions that morning. She would think I was a terrible Christian. I thought up something I had read a few days before, though it too came out sounding insincere. I returned the questions to her, but as she went on about her wonderful devotional life and what God was doing for her, my mind wandered. At that time in my life, my spiritual life had plummeted. Instead of having my devotions in the mornings, I would sleep, thinking the extra rest would help me more than God could. Then, at the last minute, I would read a Bible verse, and if anyone asked me about my devotions, I would try to make it sound very holy and deep, when in reality, I had no clue what I was talking about. I thought I couldn’t bear to have my devotions. What I had to learn was that I couldn’t bear to do without them. Without spending time with Jesus, I was susceptible to the Devil’s temptations and my life was becoming dirtier than the nasty dishes I detested. I needed to be rinses, washed, and disinfected by Jesus. Spending that precious time with Jesus each day makes us indescribably stronger, and able to withstand evil with God’s help. 

Rainbow Sprinkles

Rainbow Sprinkles. You know what I’m talking about. Those little burst of colors that dust your melting ice cream or dot the frosting on your slightly over-baked cupcake. You don’t eat them because of their taste, because in actuality, you can’t really taste them and they are quite small. You eat them for their look. They’re pretty. They’re there for the happiness factor. The variety of bright colors just adds a little bit of cheer to your whole experience. You can’t really taste them, but their brightness makes you smile. Rainbow sprinkles. So simple…so small. But they can make such a big difference to the way you view an ice cream cone.

I’ve been learning to look for ways to give rainbow sprinkles to other people… little things that bring a smile to their face. They don’t have to be big. In fact, they shouldn’t be. They’re just little bursts of color…little dustings of joy that bring a smile to someone’s face and brighten their day. They say “I care about you” and “I’m thinking about you.”

Things like reaching out to someone that’s hurting. And that’s everyone. The nerdy kid that gets straight A’s. The popular diva that constantly smiling her bleached teeth smile. The hot guy who always seems to be having the best time. The person who always has answers to everything. The preacher who’s life seems so perfect. Everyone. The people you love the most. The people you hate the most. Everyone’s hurting.

Rainbow Sprinkles. Like making a kid feel special by noticing and taking interest in them. Cooking a meal for someone who’s sick. Inviting some lonely person out to coffee.  Singing at the nursing home. Or, if you don’t sing, talking to the patients. Sending a handwritten note to someone who is going through a hard time.

All of these seemingly “little” sprinkles can bring such immense joy. Most importantly, however, rainbow sprinkles show Jesus’ love through us.

It’s wonderful that all these people want to change the world. I’m totally for doing big, hard things for God. I just don’t want to ever forget to small, everyday things that I can do to bless others.

My First Post

Ugh, here it is again. That awkward moment right at the beginning where you really don't know what to say because anything you say will sound stupid to not only everyone, but yourself most of all. So, I guess I'm just going to get this over with. Hi. I'm Kara. I don't have a clue what I'm going to write about yet.  It'll probably mostly be rumblings and jumbled words. Whatever it is...or isn't though, I just want everything I write to be real. No pretending at all. It's just going to be real and from the heart. Sometimes deep, sometimes light...always heartfelt.

 Ok...here we go....oh great....