I Fought the Tub and I Won

I confess, this post has more to do with friendship than with a bath tub, but that's how it started.

I have a good friend who suffers a great deal with chronic pain like I do.  Also like me, she is currently undiagnosed and has even had a few medical professionals tell her there's nothing wrong with her, to the point of accusing her of lying or faking her symptoms.  I'm here to tell you straight up, that for some doctors, if they can't "see" your symptoms in blood work, x-rays, CT scans or other tests, then you must be just fine.  That can be frustrating and even maddening.

The other night I was trying to go over some of the things that sometimes ease my pain for my friend.  I suggested a hot bath with some epsom salts.  "Amy," she said, "You couldn't pay me to take a bath in my tub.  I don't think I've cleaned it since we moved in here."

I love my friend dearly and I hate that she is in so much pain.  I want to do things for her because she really doesn't have a lot of people in her life to do them, to show her how much she is loved and cared about.  She is a single mom with two great boys and she runs herself ragged.  I told her I would be over to clean her tub for her.  "DON'T YOU DARE!" My friend was screeching at me about my own pain and being embarrassed by her tub.  I reminded her that Jesus himself had washed the feet of his disciples.  If he could handle feet, surely I could handle her bath tub!  She returned with "You just keep doing the fishes and the loaves thing, I'll figure out how to wash my tub!"  (She wasn't being rude; she loves benefitting from my "fishes and loaves thing" as much as her boys do.)  I told her to go be stubborn over there, left it at that and changed the subject.

When I got off the phone, I told Shawn about the conversation and laughed conspiratorially.  My friend forgot I have a key to her apartment! She'd given it to me in case of emergencies:  this was an emergency, right?!  MWAHAHAHA!  My friend works hard and I wanted to do this for her.  She deserved to have someone clean her tub.

The other day while she was at work, I let myself into her home, carrying my cleaning supplies.  Now, please know that it will never be said I am Martha Stewart in my own home.  Seriously, I can't remember the last time I cleaned our own tub.  Martha does not live here--I do, along with 3 cats, a dog and 3 boys--but now, thanks to some scrubbing bubbles and clorox, Martha does reside in my friend's bath tub.  The grateful and amazed tears my friend responded with made my aching back worth every bit of it.  My friend couldn't remember the last time someone had done something like for her.  I still think it made my day more than hers.  Our matching silly grins and laughing tears were great.

I'm not telling you this to make myself feel good or for a pat on the back.  I'm telling you this because someday soon you will be given the chance to clean a tub, make a meal, vacuum a floor or provide a ride for a friend.  You will be given the chance to just share a cup of coffee or extend a hug.  Sometimes all it takes to make someone smile is showing up on their doorstep with your bucket of cleaning supplies and a smile.  It's not always about the act itself, but the love you put into doing it.  As 1 Corinthians 16:14 teaches us, "Let all you do be done in love."