A few weeks ago, I listened to my daughter’s pediatrician tell me that my baby girl was allergic to everything on the planet except perhaps rocks. While I knew seasonal allergies were her nemesis, I’d no idea of the laundry list of predators that turned my beautiful daughter’s blue eyes to red on a regular basis.

One of the major culprits was dust mites. Despite my compulsion to keep a clean house, I’m sure a few of these little critters are living in places I just can’t reach with my trusty Oreck vacuum. One of those places I learned is carpet.

 When we bought our house, the upstairs was covered in hardwood floors. They weren’t in bad shape, however, it was decided that the easiest and cheapest thing to do was to carpet over these puppies and so that’s what we did.

Fast forward nearly twenty years – yes, you read that right – and there I was facing the inevitable task of ripping up the fibers that were contributing to my daughter’s malaise. After securing the help of her father (praise the Lord!) and forewarning this very stylish teenager that what lies underneath may not be too pretty, she and her father began the arduous task.

When she sent me a picture after the carpet was removed, I was stunned. The floor was in great shape and with a little Murphy’s Oil soap and some polishing, I saw its potential.

 Funny how this simple discovery caused me to think about other areas of my life. What lies beneath this or that area that I may have forgotten– or worse – formulated a judgement about due to lack of information or old beliefs?

We’re living in tumultuous times. Everything we hold near and dear to our hearts is being upended and tossed about like lawn furniture during a Nor’easter. The people and things we previously thought were rock solid turn out to not be so. People are re-evaluating their beliefs and discovering who they are as spiritual beings trapped in this very material world. They’re ripping up their own carpets.

What have we been covering up because it’s easier? What might be the consequences of revealing it? Sure it’ll be hard work. Sure there may be gum or Play-Doh stuck in tiny crevices that’ll have to be acknowledged and cleaned up. But the end result will be a vision of beauty.

Like you I’m seeing this message – “New Year. New You” all over social media and in a myriad of commercials from weight loss companies to shoes. It’s become so trite that each presentation of it results in an eye roll by me. Why do we need a new year to discover ourselves? Shouldn’t this be an everyday occurrence? Why do we need tragedies or crisis to wake us up to the beauty that lies within ourselves and others? Why can’t we just be our best selves every day?

Well, ‘cuz it’s hard – that’s why. It’s hard to be positive or generous or loving every day. Too many distractions pull us back into our not-so-nice selves. It’s like a weight loss goal. It’s easy to lose the weight. The hard part comes when we have to keep it off. Believe me, I’ve yo-yoed enough with my weight to prove this statement true time and again.

They say the only thing that we can count on is change. Change is the inevitable equalizer in our lives. Just as soon as we get comfortable with one thing – boom! Something happens to shock us out of our complacency. I can safely say that the carpet in my daughter’s bedroom would’ve likely remained in its present state had I not gotten that doctor’s report.

 This week, I finally listened to the voice I’ve been hearing telling me to put reminders on my phone to periodically quiet my ever-lovin’ high-speed locomotive brain. Now when I see that alert pop up, I stop what I’m doing, close my eyes, take a breath and whisper, “Where now Lord?”

Where now Lord? Sometimes I get a response. Sometimes I don’t. But the lack of response is no cause for worry. It simply means – stay the course until the next check-in anyway.

So that’s what I’m doing – checking in with God throughout the day. That’s how I avoid the tornadoes. That’s how I become the best version of me. Not with some new gadget or article of clothing that’s being hocked on the newswires but with the guidance of my Father in heaven.

He already sees the best version of me. He should know. He created me. I just need to align with His vision by ripping up the layers of old carpet and seeing the beauty within.

“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” (Peter 3:3-4)