Clean Windows (06/15/24)

There were two heavy knocks on the door followed by the ring of the doorbell. I walked to the front door, thinking it was the UPS man with a delivery. But I was surprised to find two young men in their 20s beaming broadly. They were asking homeowners to hire them to clean the windows and they were giving a discount. I enjoyed their enthusiasm, but I told them they’d need to speak to my husband, Ken, since in our household division of labor, he has the outside domain. And so, they walked around the house, found him at work, and won him over to the idea.

Within the hour, they were back, tackling the chore of washing our 20 windows and the glass in our front door. They were thorough. They were hard working. They did a great job. We weren’t planning on having our windows washed yesterday, but they were long overdue for such a cleaning. At the end of the day, the two young men were happy for the job, we were very happy with their work, and our home looks so much nicer both outside and from within.

As I watched the young men work from my perch inside the home, I had to smile and admit, “Not all good ideas start with me.” I added, “LORD, keep me open minded and receptive to the ideas of others.” Truth is, I was struggling with this very thing in another part of my life. Turns out, when my windows are clean, I can see more clearly. Who knew?

My husband came in mid-way through the project and asked me if I had some particular bills in my wallet. I said I’d check, but as I was sorting my cash, I asked why he needed them. “Because these fellows deserve a tip beyond what they are charging me.” I smiled. I hadn’t seen him that impressed by the ingenuity and hard work of others for a while. He found the bills he wanted among my cash. As he walked away, I told the LORD, “Thank you, LORD.” My husband needed a boost in his opinion of the direction the world is headed. I never dreamed it would show up with the window washers.

As the young men worked, my husband carried the detached screens to the hose and began cleaning them, all 20 of them. I’d been asking about cleaning our windows and screens for some time, but it never seemed to be a good time. I guess later finally arrived.

Sometimes, it takes another to start a process for us to join in and do what we can do. Ken and I couldn’t tackle the windows ourselves because of physical limitations, but there were still things we could do to help like washing the screens and cleaning the inside of the windows which I did while the men worked outside. Some jobs require a team. Who knew?

I say it all the time, “The LORD writes straight with crooked lines.” And yesterday was a perfect example. What started out with an unexpected knock on the door, ended with clean windows both inside and out, with clarity beyond my physical view extending to my view of others, with a restored sense of goodness within others for my husband, and with all of us doing what we could do alongside others who were doing what we couldn’t, working as a team.

It was a great day at my house.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.