My Week of Horse Baths

Horse what? You may be asking, well let me tell you.  When I was a little girl growing up in rural Alabama  and there was an ice storm, the power would go out. It would go out and stay out for days at a time. Even when there's no power (i.e. no hot water) a body must be washed. My mother would fill one of those old multi-purpose metal dishpans with water, (if you grew up in the south like me you probably shelled some peas or broke some beans in one too).  I vaguely recall she would heat it on top of the wood burning heater we had for a time.

I remember she would set out the pan with it's water and a wash rag, that's country speak for washcloth,  and tell us to wash off.  She called it a "horse bath", that's what it sounded like to my young ears. I could never figure out why a horse would be washed like that. Seems like not enough water for such a large animal.  Okay, so maybe she said "whore's bath" and either I misunderstood because my sweet mama would never say anything vulgar or because I was sheltered and really just had never heard that word before.  Anyway, you didn't submerse any body parts. You start high, then go low, then a quick swipe where the two meet, a "horse bath".  I'm ashamed to tell you how long it took me to figure out what she really said but I was mom myself by that time and a horse bath sounds much nicer. Weirder, but nicer.

Memories come at the oddest of places this particular one came tumbling out this week after a brief and unexpected hospital stay.  The nurses came and went the iv remained attached and there was no time to take a shower without a little help. Because of this I spent four days taking my special baths.  I know I never got to stinking, I  had my Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom, shower gel, lotion and spray and everyone who came in the room commented on how nice it smelled there.  Come to think of it they said the room smelled good, not me. We'll pretend I smelled as fresh as a daisy too.

After four long days and three sleepless nights (sounds like an anti-vacation promo), I was discharged and the very first thing I did was not hug my husband or kids, it was to take a long lovely hot shower.  I have a feeling they are thankful I did first things first.

Unequally Caffeinated

So, I was thinking about coffee today. Well, not coffee so much as how much I like coffee. Piping hot in the morning and iced in the afternoon. Although I can drink it black, I prefer mine a lovely shade of taupe and with a bit of sweetener.  Yum!

Sparta never understood my love/obsession with coffee and through the years as I went through one Mr Coffee maker after another, he would suggest that I simply quit. Simply quit.....as if there were nothing special, nothing different about the contents of the caffeine laden mug I held so tightly each morning.

Fast forward fifteen years to a career where coffee meetings had became a bi-weekly norm, and Sparta's reticence to continually draw attention to himself by declining means that we now have a shared appreciation of  Juan Valdez's Colombian brew. These days if he gets up before me that means, he's taken care of starting the pot and I get to enjoy the fruits and aromas of his labor.

When he was a non-drinker, I used to fantasize about long leisurely conversations the two of us could have out on the porch as we sipped our morning coffee,  all the while birds would be singing and a deer or two might frolic through the yard.  Silly yes?  Before becoming a convert, Sparta had absolutely no understanding of the physical and mental benefits of coffee. He could hear me sigh with pleasure upon my first sip. He could take note of my panic when the coffee maker's on light wasn't lighting. He thought he understood my need but he didn't, not really, until my need also became his own.

Lately, I've been seeing many comments disparaging Christianity; some questioning it's validity and  the sanity of those who profess it. Others have made remarks degrading believers as neanderthals with no intelligence and demonizing those who would dare to take a stand for biblical principles. I say to those posting,  as non-believers, you just don't get it and you can't.

 The apostle Paul knew this and he forewarned us in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 where he says,

14 A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. 15 Spiritual people evaluate everything but are subject to no one’s evaluation.(God's Word Translation)

Just like Sparta didn't understand the deliciousness of coffee, the lost have no concept of the reality of God, there's nothing in them to recognize the truth of His word. I hope to remember that when my blood pressure starts rising in response to their words.  Oh, by the way  two cups of coffee daily has been shown to help combat high blood pressure. Good to know, huh?