Check out the feature image. What is this? A piece of soap? Well, if you think it looks like a remnant bar of Dove, you’re right. What else is it? A leftover. It’s a leftover of something that used to be a whole….
The last day of leaving one of our mini-vacation getaways, as usual, I was in pack-up, clean-up mode. Exiting the shower, I glance at the oval-shaped soap, wondering if I should put it in the plastic travel container and take it, if it should be thrown away, or just leave it. I mean, it has had its best days, as it was a small piece of that beautifully shaped Dove bar. As I pondered over something so simple, my overthinking brain tried to make a sensible decision about something as minute as a bar of soap. Smh. In that infamous “dropped in my spirit” mode, my thoughts went to the word, “leftover.” Wow, in the imagery of a bar of soap, all kinds of similances of that word entered the brain….
Leftover or Left over....It’s what is left behind; It’s what’s remaining; It’s what we save for later; It’s what we often discard; It’s what gets stored somewhere else for now; It’s what is often never dealt with, and just lingers around until it soils. Mr. Google defines it as, “something, especially food, remaining after the rest has been used or consumed.” For me, in that moment, it is what we all deal with, past and present, symmetrically, as we operate in life mode each day.
We certainly have our personal leftovers. We have leftover emotions from sordid experiences, and relationships of love, marriage, friends and family. We function off of these leftovers, knowingly, and unknowingly. They are often camouflaged as triggers, PTSD, depression, grief, anxiety or pure distaste—all due to remains of something that was once whole; something that was once fully intact. We spend countless hours and years dealing with these remnants. Oftentimes, we settle into it being, “it is what it is.” Other times, we put in the work to get rid of them—cleaning out the container, intending to toss them out for good. Either way, the fact remains that they (these leftovers) have taken up residence in our spiritual storage space…
You know, timing is everything! I took the feature image after exiting the shower on that last day of vacay. I had been meaning to write about it weeks ago, however, watching the proceedings of the Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings, and the venomous wrath that she has had to endure via questioning, and in some instances for me, idiocracy in inquisition, the nudge hit me. You see, some of these folk appear to be dealing with in mind, heart, and spirit, leftovers of superiority, privilege, political alignments, cultural misgivings, sexism, racism, and "hateration"....all, seemingly, leftovers of toxic history, consuming lackluster spiritual "food" or having had none at all. In these moments of---yes, judgment, I wonder if they are intimately connected to a God who accepts all of our leftovers. No matter what we’ve done; no matter how we did it; no matter when we did it, God willingly welcomes them into His Grace. He knows that they’re there. He knows where they come from. He knows how long we’ve been storing them, and He loves us through it all. He guides us through sorting through the emotions and actions attached to these "salty" non-palatable leftovers. We should search our souls, and seek Him in prayer; spending intimate time with Him, to manage and break the cycle. We must remember that we are leftovers of sin, and making new dishes regularly--on the daily. Thanks to our Good Father, an awesome and selfless God, the price was paid at The Cross for our yucky "dishes" and undelectable desires. The leftovers have already been dealt with. Let’s deal with what’s still "left" for us to decide and act on through our free will. So, are we going to keep these residual messes, leaving them unattended or work on them in an effort to toss them out? Let us encourage each other to recognize them for what they are, and to work on being our best self.
Don’t get me wrong, some leftovers are good, and still serve purpose. Sometimes, we are better because we used those leftovers to make us better. As in the bar of soap, the tiny piece wasn’t as good as a big ole new bar, however, it still had lather potential, could still cleanse, so I kept it…😊 I'm prayerful about my life of many leftovers. 🙏🏽 God, thank you for accepting me with all of them.
To the Honorable Mrs. Ketanji Brown Jackson, it is obvious that you haven't and won't let those bad leftovers soil your appetite for what's good and fair in this world. Multitudes, upon multitudes, are so proud of you! We will be cheering you on, applauding you with tears of pride, encouragement, accomplishment and continued hope for the future, when you are confirmed to the bench of the highest court in the land. It is way past time for this/your place in American history! The seat belongs to you.
Peace & Blessings,
Lisa C-S
Comentarios