How Relationships Are Not Like Shower Tiles

I spent the whole afternoon the other day on my hands and knees scrubbing my shower tile. It was covered in hard water and rust stains. So I got out the stiffest scrubbing pad I could find and started in. Now if any of you are familiar with cleaning tile, you might be cringing right now. I felt really good about my progress because the tile was bright, white and clean! Yeah!! Until my husband walked in and said, "That's not an abrasive scrubbing pad is it?"

I remained silent and held the pad up to him. Yep, it was. "You know why the tile is so clean right?" he said. I was still silent. He told me the tile was so clean and white because I had scrubbed the glaze right off the tile. I got below the surface of the tile with my scrubbing and took the protective glaze right off and instead of the off white, bone color that the tile was supposed to be, I had white tile with no protective coating. Oops.

It's a good thing that relationships are not like shower tile. If we never got below the surface in our relationships, we would never have a truly fulfilling relationship with anyone. In Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter 10, he is trying to get the Corinthians to see look below the surface of things (v. 7) and see why he is so forceful in his letters. He has to be boasting and forceful in his letters because he is not physically there with the Corinthians to encourage them in person.

He addresses this is verses 10 and 11 that say, "For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present." Paul is basically saying to look below the surface of his actions while he is there and see the Godly man underneath all the boasting and forcefulness of his letters.

There are probably a lot of people that read my articles and think that I am forceful in my opinions of how we should be as women. But I am only trying to encourage others in the way that God has called me to do. 2 Corinthians 10:13 says, "We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you."

My field includes all the women that I can possibly reach to try to encourage and inspire them as God has called me to do. I will not step outside of my limits, as Paul didn't, and I pray that you will look below the surface of my writing and feel inspired and encouraged. I would love to hear from you! If I have encouraged you in anyway please let me know.