The Little Things: The Power of A Shower

 

Some people are bath people, they will lounge in a warm or hot bath for hours with candles, and music, read a book, or fall asleep. Not me; I am not here for it. I am a straight-shower person. Hot water running through my hair and massaging my shoulders is my thing. I can stand under bearably hot water for hours if you allow me. It's what wakes me up in the morning and my favorite bedtime ritual. Nothing beats a hot shower at the end of a cold day (sorry bath people). I feel loved by the water and embraced by the warmth; this is one of the things I value most in life, and one of the most automatic things, except on those ungodly days when to my horror, our building boiler is broken, and the water is ice cold. For me, this is an unforgivable sin. I call curses on that boiler, and if I allow myself, I would have hateful thoughts about our building management for allowing this dastardly deed of not properly maintaining the boiler. Don't they know how important this is to me?  Yes, I can simply boil a pot of water and use the special tub that I purchased for this very reason, but it is not the same.  It's just so wrong and unnatural and so much work. Natural is simply being able to turn on the tap and aaaahhhh, hot joy. Ah, yes, first-world problems.

In this said first world, there live some among us who have no such problems as a broken boiler nor problems of having to boil water and shower from a plastic tub. No such problem on waking up from a warm bed only to find freezing water in the middle of winter. In fact, they have no bed at all, no hot or cold water, they have no shower at all. The fact is many have not had a shower in days, months, or years? They never get to experience the simple joy of washing off the day's dirt, washing the stress of life out of their hair, or just the joy of that fresh and renewed feeling, or the pleasure of putting on clean underwear, clean clothes and a pair of soft clean socks, or the security of putting on a clean mask to protect in this time of Covid and other illnesses, to simply feel like they are human and that they matter. This is not available to so many who live among us. 

But God does not leave us without angels. One such Angel is Walter Harris, founder of "Power in a Shower," and his team of amazing volunteers. Along with a sparkling clean shower for our unhoused brothers and sisters, they provide clean clothes, including underwear and socks, masks, water, and snacks. More importantly, they provide compassion, care, a smile, and conversation, in a word, LOVE.

 Source:  

Domestic lifestyle portrait of young happy, and beautiful black African American woman smiling happy, taking a shower at home bathroom, washing her hair with shampoo.  By VisualsYouNeed- Adobe Stock