Not sure where I picked up the muck, but there was plenty of it on the kitchen and hallway floors. 聽
I tried sweeping it up but to no avail. I tentatively picked up a piece of the sludge but still couldn鈥檛 identify exactly what it was or where it came from. I just know that it blemished my nice, clean floors.聽
Taking off my household slippers, I quickly discovered the source of the mess. The soles of my footwear were freckled with blobs of whatever that black stuff was. Disgusted, I took them off and put them into a basin of hot water and soap. The 鈥渟tuff鈥� was still on them so I took a stiff brush to them. That, sadly, must be followed by a thorough scrubbing of the floors.聽
The only thing I can think of was a quick run to the neighbour鈥檚 house. It hadn鈥檛 rained and I figured there was no need to change into outdoor shoes. Wrong.聽
Out of all this mundane event was a stern lesson for me and, I suspect, for many others, too. Be careful what you pick up and even more, be diligent that you don鈥檛 spread it around.聽
Days of partial, if not total, isolation are challenging. I miss seeing and chatting with my friends; even telephone conversations aren鈥檛 quite the same. Added to that is the lack of activities that were often a delightful source for topics of interest. In any case, let鈥檚 be careful to avoid spreading verbal dirt.聽
I鈥檝e found that sharing testimonies of God鈥檚 grace during these difficult times along with intentional words of encouragement are important. An added blessing this week was a time to do both with friends I just happened to meet in town.聽
鈥淜ind words are like honey鈥攅njoyable and healthful.鈥� Proverbs 16:24 (Living Bible)聽
