Eighteen years of accumulated algae, mildew, dirt, and moss resided in the shallow pits and crevices of my cement drive. I hadn’t noticed as I hurried across it, coming and going in my SUV, fetching mail from the mailbox, or lugging water to my little garden behind the garage. Yet when I finally looked at it, it was oh-so-obvious.

It took most of three days this week to dislodge the grime with a power washer. Little by little. An inch at a time. Hovering the wand the longest over the most stubbornly-embedded areas. It was slow, careful, tedious work.

Today my driveway and parking slab are like new. Clean. Free of algae and mildew and dirt and moss — liberated of all grime. It shines white in the noonday sun.

People collect years of grime, too. We barely notice as we hurry through life. We don’t know we could be made clean and new. We don’t imagine our lives could be better — richer, purer, more peaceful, wiser, clearer, more victorious …

We have a God who is willing to spend the time required to cleanse us. Little by little. An inch at a time. Hovering the wand of his divine power the longest over our most stubbornly-embedded areas. He is careful. He takes his time. He doesn’t mind the tedious work.

He wants us to have the best possible lives. To be like new. Clean. Free of guilt, wrongdoing, wrong-thinking, wrong-teaching — liberated of all grime. When we ask for his help, and let him cleanse us, we too will ultimately shine white in the noonday sun.