Waxing Philosophical

Alright, just groan now 'cuz this is about to be the most groan-worthy analogy ever, but I guess God knows when it's late and I'm tired but not quite ready to sleep yet. So today at 2:30 p.m. I went in and got waxed. I planned on full legs and underarms, but chickened out on the removal of pants issue and just did half legs and underarms. This girl who does my waxing is simply wonderful. She's funny and real and possibly most importantly, quick. She spreads that warm wax on, gently but firmly rubs on the cloth, and rrrrip! In just a moment there's a beautifully bare area . . . oh yeah, and it hurts. Now my legs maybe are conditioned to this, because they really feel fine at this point, less than 12 hours after the wax. Actually, they felt fine immediately. My underarms though, they are sore. They're really tender. It's not to the point of being painful, really, but definitely there's the feeling that something happened in there today. So I sat down and read a few posts on a message board, then just sat quietly stroking my very smooth underarm. It's soft and wonderful and totally hair-free, but not in that shaving kind of way. You know how your tummy has tiny blonde hairs that no one ever notices because they're so soft and fine and light? Yeah, those are the ones that are left. Then the groan-ish analogy came over me: letting God do His work in me is a lot like waxing! I think about it, pray about it even, plan for it, take action, and . . . OW! Some things God rrrips out of my life and I don't even miss 'em two seconds later. Other things though, they sting. Even thinking about plucking certain things from my life makes me cringe. Let's take sugar just for example. I know that I need to cut back on my sugar intake. There's just no question, it's as ugly as my lower legs were at 2:25 p.m. today. Big difference, though: my sugar intake affects my whole family. It makes me irritable and slothful and definitely not energetic and fun! I love it, though! I don't want to cut back on sugar! I just know it's going to sting, and I just know how I will feel that rrrip feeling every afternoon when I'm just about ready to go to bed, and bedtime is a long way off. Then my hand brushes my so-smooth legs, and I know how worth it that sacrifice will be. Yeah, it'll sting; there's just no getting around that. But when we take a big step, make a giant leap even, that end product is something really amazing.