I thought I had a good start on getting ready for a special occasion, but I was wrong. I was more behind than I realized. Have you ever done that? Let me tell you, digging out of that hole wasn’t easy.
The occasion was a party for our grandson Maverick’s first birthday. Naturally, the first one usually is, but this one was special to us because he was born six weeks early and spent 24 days in the NICU at children’s hospital. Obviously, he has been through a lot. In all fairness we all experienced that as well. So, we all needed a special birthday party.
Tim and I volunteered to have it held at our house. We felt blessed to be able to do it. Now, this party was to be a lot smaller than their gender reveal back in May of last year. It was to be family with a few friends. Still yet, we wanted everything to nice and clean for it. Our daughter Sara set the date a month out, so I thought we had plenty of time to prepare for it. I began by straightening up and rearranging furniture and other things in the house. Next, I began to clean what I don’t clean on a weekly basis. You all know to what I am referring. It’s the: “Company may notice it” places. I thought I was doing well and ahead of schedule. That is until Tim made a little announcement.
Four days before the party, Tim said: “We need to clean the deck. You know some people are going to sit out there.” I was so focused on the house that I had forgotten about the deck. Since it has been so hot this summer, we hadn’t gone out there to sit and enjoy it. The older we become, the less we can tolerate the heat. First, he got out the water hose and a brush. As for me, I got the cleaners and paper towels. I soon realized that I had underestimated how at how quickly outside furniture becomes so dirty. What we thought we be a couple of hours turned into half a day of work. After the deck floor dried, Tim touched up a couple of places with a fresh coat of paint. By that night, the deck sparkled, but we were literally exhausted.
I spent the next three days trying to finish up inside since I lost time working on the deck. Before and after work, I cleaned. Every time I thought I had one thing finished, I found more
things that needed to be done. It felt like I would never get finished. To be honest, I didn’t. You know what? I think I was the only one who noticed.
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 (KJV)
The dirt on the deck chairs made me think of sin. Neither goes one away by itself. While I can wipe off the dirt and get the chair clean for a short time, only Jesus can take away our sins forever.
The pictures are of Maverick after he got hold of a cupcake with red icing. When you first saw them, did you think the article was going to be about getting him clean? Actually, his parents did clean up on him what they could at our house. Bless his heart, it was even on his ears

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.