Sand in my toes

Remember being a kid at the beach and getting sand...everywhere? It stings and itches. It's a gritty annoyance that you can't ignore. Tiny grains causing major disruption in your life.

Sometimes I feel like I've got sand in my soul. Gritty annoyances of anger, hurt, sin, discouragement, and apathy that slowly penetrate my very being. Too small to deal with, too big to overcome. You swipe at it and think you've got it all, but the next day there's still some there.

1 Peter 3:19-21 (The Message)

He went and proclaimed God's salvation to earlier generations who ended up in the prison of judgment because they wouldn't listen. You know, even though God waited patiently all the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved then, eight to be exact—saved from the water by the water. The waters of baptism do that for you, not by washing away dirt from your skin but by presenting you through Jesus' resurrection before God with a clear conscience. Jesus has the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies. He's standing right alongside God, and what he says goes.

Sand in my toes. Sand in my soul. Gentle reminders of un-confessed sin, of attitudes that reflect only "me". Let the water wash them all away.