Christian Living

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Cinderella and the Demise of the Wicked Step Mother

“You shall not go until the work is done!” She was glaring at me with those beady eyes of hers as she stood there, one hand on her hip, and the other arm pointing in my face with her long, bony finger. Her lips were pursed together in a thin line and her hair was pulled back in a tight bun—both of these features accentuating the wart on the end of her nose.

I was kneeling dutifully in front of my kitchen cabinets with a bucket of hot, soapy water—I simply had no choice. Never mind that the sun was shining, and the birds were calling my name through the open window. Never mind that the children needed a mom to come and join their happy world of play. These things did not matter. The only thing that mattered—the only thing that ever mattered was that my house would be clean. That was the only way I could silence the screech. That awful, awful screech—why could I not appease her? She was never satisfied with anything I did.

“P-p-please” I stammered, “The sun is shining so nicely, and I’ve been working all day—could I just take ten minutes to get the mail?”

The woman stared at me coldly for a few minutes, not saying a thing. Then she let out a disgusted sigh. “Just ten minutes, do you understand? And don’t get side tracked like you’re in the habit of doing.”

I was out the door in a flash. Ooooh! How I love the breathing in the fresh beautiful Spring air. It felt good to get out of the house, and away from her.

And so, I began walk down the laneway; I’m always thankful for our extra long laneway. It gives me time to think, opportunities to walk, jog, bike—whichever mode I felt like for the day.

But on this particular day, I chose to walk. And as I walked I planned and pondered. In my minds eye, I could see the many things that needed to be done yet—clean out the game closet, put away the winter clothes in exchange for summer, wash the windows… on and on. My ultimate goal was to have my whole house in perfect order, always. Every room organized and decluttered. Sparkling and smelling all fresh and clean. Chores assigned to the children, each day their chores. Ahhhh that would be pretty near to heaven itself in my thinking. And the best part of this heaven on earth would be that the screech would be gone.

It was a picture-perfect day: the wind blowing softly in my face, the sweet scents of spring infused in the air. The birds singing joyfully, the flowers swaying in the breeze—and my thoughts in a busy whirl of activity.

And that was when I heard it—a whisper softer than the breeze, lighting it’s way into my busy mind “Lisa, you’re serving the wrong master.”
There. Just like that. That’s all—one single fleeting thought, totally disconnected from the rest of the jumble. It was so soft, so quick that I almost didn’t notice it. I would have pushed it away and left it to die except for one thing.

I am telling you the genuine truth when I say that at the moment the thought alighted my consciousness, The sun suddenly shone brighter. Every leaf on every tree stood out as crisp and clear as I had ever seen. The birds had never sounded more beautiful to my ears, and I couldn’t help it—my heart lifted in praise to my Mighty Creator and Saviour.

I knew which Master I wanted to serve! And I knew that the sweet messenger that found me on my morning walk was speaking the truth. Indeed, I had been serving the wrong master, unawares—I was going to have to do something about that. Somehow, I knew that something was going to be different when I walked back in the door. I wasn’t quite sure how things would change, or if it would be easy to transfer allegiance, but I was very sure about one thing:

The screechy old step mother would not be impressed!

To find out what happened when I walked in the door, go to my blog, and find the article "What Happened When I Walked in the Door"

http://treasureinvesselsofclay.blogspot.com/

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