Year 6-Day 47: Today, I am grateful for the shower curtain. This is a Pinterest image. Not my bathroom, but as we are always thinking about "what we will do when we remodel", it is fun to look at other people's ideas and spaces. This little bathroom is simply adorable. For me, the shower curtain adds something just right. Business on the top and cuteness on the bottom.
A shower curtain - another gratitude point that I believe I have completely overlooked for the first five years. Yes, I am grateful for the shower curtain because it protects and contains what goes on behind it.
The warm wonders of a morning shower happen behind the shower curtain. The curtain gives privacy and keeps the waters contained so that they do not burst forth and do damage on the other side. Shower waters are warm, wonderful, cleansing and awakening, but they are also a great force that if not contained, would wreak havoc in the bathroom. I need to be grateful for the shower curtain.
When I started this post, I wondered how it could possible have a spiritual connection, but then it hit me. The Old Testament if full of references to the temple curtains. They were given specific instructions on how to make and hang them. The Ark of the Covenant was kept behind a curtain. The Holy of Holies was protected by a special curtain and priests only entered it a few times a year with careful preparation or they would face certain death. Our God is holy. He righteousness and justice are a part of his character. He can love the sinner, but he cannot tolerate sin. Yes, there were great preparations before passing through the curtain into the most holy place.
One of the most powerful scriptures... in my opinion... in the record of the days of Jesus crucifixion and burial is this passage that is recorded in Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:30.
"At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,"
From top to bottom, not from bottom to top. God initiated not man.
It is so easy to miss the significance. Priest used to be the ones to go before God... but Jesus came to restore our relationship through his perfect sacrifice, so that we could all be intimate with God as he designed the relationship in the beginning. Jesus came as Immanuel to be "with us" and sent the Holy Spirit so that all might have daily intimacy with God. The temple curtain that protected the Holy of Holies was no longer needed to separate us and we could through Jesus, enter into his presence. Wow! Right?
Fabrics do not rip from top to bottom by natural fiber weakness. They rip from bottom to top. God acts outside the laws of nature when it pleases him. He makes the rules and he can break the rules. When he does, we should pay close attention. He is speaking.
As I write this, lent has begun. We are less than 40 days to Easter. To enter into his presence, we simply need to quiet our hearts, humble our spirits and seek his face, recieve his grace and invite "thy will not my will" into our days. Sometimes, He can be pretty overwhelming when his love and peace wash over our souls. He is good. He is patient. He loves his children.
Every day shower curtains are practical and protect. Now, I think I might remember to think about the miracle of the Easter season each time I pull one closed. We can "go behind the curtain and into His presence" and know the cleansing power of his grace and love. The more time we spend there, the more we crave... and the more we savor His goodness. Not just experience it, but savor it.
Today, I am grateful for the shower curtain... and the curtain that ripped from top to bottom on that most holy of days so long ago.
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