A Spit Shine Goes a Long Way

By Pam Kumpe 

Have you ever hit a car in a parking lot?  Well, I have.  And I'm here to say, a spit-shine can go a long way in fixing things! See, my husband was inside of the hotel, the one where he planned to shoot pictures at a prom.  He sent me back to the car for a tote which he'd left in the trunk.  H sent me on an errand because I didn’t handle my position like a pro.  It sounded like fun a job to serve as his sidekick, but I didn’t make the best assistant.  Outside in the parking lot, my hair whipped back in forth, and debris blew by from the gusts of wind that rushed across the asphalt like invisible tornadoes.  The winds were left from a recent storm the night before, but the sunshine was beautiful.

I'd I decided to take my time since helping my hubby didn't come easy for me.  However the wind forced me forward and I jumped into the front seat of the car, grabbing a bottle of water from our travel cooler.  I had to get out of that wind, at least for a minute.  I started to soak up the rays, but all of a sudden, a whirlwind of air sent a blast of wind between the cars.  My door was open, and the wind slammed it against the panel of the parked SUV to my right. 

Oh my, gray paint from my door now marked the new vehicle to my side, and yes, the smudge stuck out like a black eye! I sat there for several minutes, thinking, and sweating.  If I stared at the paint long enough while drinking my water, maybe I'd come up with a great idea.  I saw a napkin in the front seat, picked it up and deliberately spit on it, very lady like of course.  Maybe I could rub off the mark and no one would ever know what happened.  I wanted to eliminate any trace of damage and after my assessment; it appeared the paint was merely smudged on the waxed surface of this vehicle.  There was no actual damage to the body of the car, so yes, the spit shine would work.

Spit.  Rub.  Spit.  Rub.  I gently worked on the spot, leaving behind germs and saliva, I felt like people upstairs in the hotel rooms were looking down at me.  And I just knew sirens were about to come rushing in, and I'd be taken away to jail.  Or the owner might arrive and have a few choice words for me.  Amazing, a five minute spit goes a long way in erasing gray paint!  By the time, I rubbed and polished, there was no sign I'd ever touched this car, except for my fingerprints.  Gosh, I was so thankful that I hadn't set off that alarm.  Yes, accidents happen and I'm often right in the middle of them, but there's one thing about it; I usually learn a new lesson from my adventures.  This experience reminds me of how my mouth tends to rush open and slam into folks, much like the car door hitting that SUV.  I toss out words, sometime so many, it's like I'm looking to take them back after they’ve escaped. That's right; I've said things that should be eliminated or erased from my conversations.  Oh, I wonder.  Have you?  Sometimes I speak out of turn, often denting relationships.  I've wished for the chance to polish the situation and make it shine, because sometimes I’m plain old messy.  But then again, on my good days I'm fun, light hearted, and loving — or so I've heard.  However, I do have a few goals though, to let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in the sight of the Lord (See Psalms 19:4).  Is that your goal?  Or do you blow around with every whim, and rush into lives like a mini-tornado?  For me, I know there are times I'll need a spit-shine, a spiritual one that can only come from God.  He tends to provide the long lasting eraser and helps me move ahead with a clear heart, good motives, and a clean mouth.  So come along with me.  Let’s trust God with our words and our hearts, and stop blowing into other people like a whirlwind.  I don’t want my words to smudge or smear someone's day.  Do you?

I didn’t think so.

Oh yea, please don't tell anyone, I can spit.  It's our secret!  And do keep the other secret about the SUV; no one knows this story about the smudge of paint.  Oops, they do now.  They do now!