If this is your car, I apologize. :) I promise that it could easily be mine on many days. :)

When I saw these words etched on the back window of someone's vehicle the other night in the midst of all the beautifully dressed homecoming dates, the car just seemed to stand out in a way that screamed, "NOTICE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Isn't that how we feel sometimes when we are feeling dirty, cheap, used up, pointless, ugly, worn out, or just  plain yucky?"

Physically, I haven't been feeling 100% lately which has caused me to exercise less.  When I slip out of my routine of exercise and walking, I often end up finding more time to snack which eventually leads to how I feel right now...

And that's just the physical part of feeling not so "spunky."

Spiritual "yuckiness" can often feel much worse. My new teaching schedule has taken a big chunk out of my quiet time, so I'm still trying to get into a better routine with that part of my life.

Today, I had my students decorate a Coat of Arms that contained five different sections that told a little about them. (I started a new nine weeks today where I am transitioning from math to reading  so I had some new students mixed in with the ones I had last nine weeks for math.)

As I looked through the student's papers as they turned them in, my heart broke as I stopped on one student's Coat of Arms that simply had the word "nothing" in every section.

Greatest memory:  Nothing

Something I am great at:  Nothing

What I look to do in my spare time:  Nothing

Life motto:  Nothing

Today, it was as if this student was a dirty car screaming, "Wash me."

I drew a new Coat of Arms for him and slipped it onto his desk.  I wrote about how great he is in math and how he is a leader and how his smile makes me smile.

I watched as he read the paper and then slipped it into his trapper keeper.

I'm praying for him tonight.

Praying that somehow he can feel renewed.  Praying that he can feel valuable.  Praying that he can see a glimmer of hope in his life.

Praying that somehow his spirit can be washed, removing all feelings of "nothingness" that he has in his heart.

And I'm thanking God for medicine that seems to be helping my joint pain and I'm asking God to bring back my desire to get out and exercise. I want to feel renewed again too.

But most of all, I am asking God to help me find more time in each day in which I can simply be still and sit in His Presence.

Notice me, Lord, and WASH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praying you feel washed and renewed today too, remembering your worth comes from Him who holds you in the palm of His hand and loves you with an everlasting love!

Jeremiah 31:3

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
       "I have loved you with an everlasting love;
       I have drawn you with loving-kindness.