Do you know what my favorite thing about April is? Go ahead, guess…
The warmer weather? Naw. April showers bringing May flowers? I do enjoy it, but not my favorite. The fact that April is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich month? Oohh close, but not quite. Do you give up?
I love April because it is my bi-annual ring cleaning month. (I will give you a moment to stop laughing… or rolling your eyes… or however you reacted.)
That’s right. My beloved proposed to me in the month of April, thus I have to have my engagement/wedding ring cleaned and inspected every six months in order to maintain the lifetime guarantee. So October and April are two of my favorite months of the year.
In the airport, moments after my beloved gave the ring… I have never felt more bright and shiny. And if you are curious– I said yes.
Before you think I am a superficial crazy person, let me explain something. It’s not the biggest ring on the planet. And it certainly isn’t the most expensive. (I personally have issues buying/owning/wearing a piece of jewelry that costs as much as a vehicle. Uh, yeah, no.) But I love my ring because of what it represents– a sacred, lifelong covenant between my beloved and I. And I LOVE getting it cleaned. After they work their two-minute magic on this bad boy, it looks as good as new. I don’t know about you, but I just love the shiny.
The new shininess of the ring just fills my heart with joy. The light will catch it every now and then, at which point I smile like a bozo, think of my beloved and giggle like a school girl.
Sometimes I am so excited about the “shiny” in my life, I am convinced I am part squirrel.
But here’s the thing with my newly-cleaned up ring… That awesome excessive shine only lasts a few days. As the weeks and months pass, don’t get me wrong, it still looks pretty and I always cherish it, but it gets a little… gunky. And when I do take it in to get cleaned every six months, I oftentimes have to ask for a “second” cleaning because they missed some of the inside crevices.
Getting that ring cleaned is a lot like our relationship with Jesus. I don’t know about you, but if I neglect my Jesus time, I start to lose that Jesus shine and look/feel gunky. So I am all about getting polished daily by spending time with Him. And just like that ring’s “lifetime guarantee,” I need to have hardcore cleaning sessions a few times a year… perhaps it is a women’s retreat, or attend a really awesome Jesus conference or go on a mini-personal sabbatical.
And every time I come back from those big Jesus events, I feel new… fresh… clean… and of course, oh-so-shiny. Talk about some Jesus Bling!!
So I am curious– what do you do to keep your “Jesus shine?” Do you attend any specific events? Or do you have any interesting methods to be cleansed by Jesus daily to maintain your shine? Let me know by commenting here. 🙂
The blood of Jesus is the ultimate cleaning solution. Get washed today. Accept His love for you, and don’t be shy about sharing it with others. Jesus is the light and He can shine through us… And I don’t know about you, but I just gotta love the shiny.
This Shine Ain’t All Mine,
SGK
“‘Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever.” — Daniel 12:3
Its. So. Shiny. Thank you, Jesus!
