“Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” Mark 7:15

About six months ago we noticed in our house that the hardwood floor in a downstairs room was showing signs of water damage. We eventually had to move all the furniture out and have someone come to try to diagnose the problem. We were told there were no leaking pipes but the damage had still come from underneath the floor. We were told the water was most likely coming from outside. We had a contractor come by, and a landscaper, both who agreed it might be possible, but neither could pinpoint the problem, since it wasn’t visible on the outside of the house. It hadn’t rained in some time and we had shut off the sprinklers near that corner of the house where the room was located. We were left with many questions, but no sure fire solutions.

It seemed all the experts couldn’t, with complete accuracy, pinpoint the problem. Yet all could see the manifestations of the problem as water seeped up through the floor. It was seeping right through the cement slab upon which the house was built. The best guess was that run-off water was pooling underneath the slab in an unseen place at the corner of the house and slowly making its way up through the concrete. It requires digging down and installing some new drainage on that side of our home. So that whatever water flows off the roof or collects along the side of the house will have an easily accessible drain to carry it away. It also will require that the floor be replaced in that room. Owning a home certainly can be expensive.

When I think about my life I realize that there are times things deep below the surface that cannot be seen with the naked eye cause problems. In fact, even the well-constructed foundations can become part of the problem because they give the illusion that everything is covered, well sealed and all right. But it’s interesting how the things underneath find a way to the surface and leak out, even through the best foundations. There are times when the stuff collecting underneath the foundation has no appropriate outlet and it moves into the inappropriate spaces of my life. Having a good drainage system that readily accesses the pooling, poisoned and stagnant water underneath the foundation is a good precaution to the damage this water can do when left unchecked. It is interesting that the damage to the floors of our house just alerted us to a bigger, more serious problem underneath.

When, in my life, I come across external damage manifested in broken responses and broken relationships, it is helpful to begin the process of accessing the larger unseen, beneath the surface issue that is leaking to the surface. Once assessed it is helpful to check for appropriate drainage to release that pooling, stagnant poison. Sometimes to diagnose the issue and create appropriate drainage we must do the hard work of digging down deeper into the interior of our lives. It is the things that have remained buried there and skillfully covered over that we must allow to be exposed and appropriately dealt with.

In this season of lent I have been practicing the discipline of examine each night before bed. It includes time to reflect upon the day and recognize God’s presence expressed in His daily gifts and provision for which to be grateful, His accompaniment and guidance, and finally, His light that exposes the places of attachment and affliction that require further transformation. The practice just affords me the opportunity and a process to honestly consider the true state of my soul, humbly confess my brokenness, and ask for the generous mercy of God. It provides appropriate drainage so that the stagnant water does not pool in unseen places, and then poison my life and relationships.

As you continue to consider the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus I hope that you will remain honestly attentive to your own manifestations of brokenness, the surprisingly ugly stuff that leaks out, and do the inner work beneath the surface to expose and appropriately deal with those inner afflictions Jesus longs to transform by His grace, love and power. You might try the practice of daily examine to assist in this process. May this song further help your pause to reflect.