My Secret Escape

Have you ever gotten overwhelmed during a weekday and felt the need to pray but that you had no place private to go be with God? You just knew deep in your soul you needed 10 minutes without watchful eyes on you or ears listening in? I know I have felt these very things. And where do I go when time is short and I need private time with God right in the middle of my work day?

Well, my secret escape is the car wash :)

I realized about 8 years ago I could visit the car wash by my job or house and get 10 minutes of complete alone time with God. No one could hear me and no one could really even see me! This has been my secret escape, especially for times when my schedule is overwhelming me.

I turn my phone OFF so I'm not tempted by text or facebook. I'm not concerned about getting a phone call because even if someone called, I would not be able to hear well inside the car wash. So everything must wait for at least the time of the car wash. I find this surprisingly freeing!

As my little white Prius gets all the dirt washed away from it, I also feel God cleansing me and reminding me:

1 Corinthians 6:11b "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city."

Then as I relax and shake off the woes of the world, the child in me comes back again and I enjoy the simple things about my little escape. I especially enjoy when it's time to wax the car because the wax tends to come out all colorful...yellow, purple, blue colors dot my windshield...and my heart lifts even more.

Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

After this simple, secret escape...I can pull out of the car wash a bit more calm, more grounded and with a refreshed heart. So, if you find in the future that a day is weighing too heavy you might think about rounding up some change from your pocket, driving to an automatic car wash and spending some unique time with God in this unlikely escape.