Cleaning Out Those Dark Places

I have an old Dell laptop that is somewhat of my lifeline to the world. Ann bought it for me many years ago and it has worked like a champ. But for the last several months, it’s not been working well, slowing down and just generally ‘not cooperating’. I have tried all the obvious things and even tried some software that is supposed to “improve performance” and “speed it up” but they have actually caused more problems than they solved (sound familiar?). I’ve never trusted these ‘solutions in a box’ and these programs have simply been more verification that magic pills don’t usually work.

So, as I looked on the Internet I happened along a case where a fellow suggested cleaning the insides of the computer and graciously included step-by-step instructions on how to dismantle the laptop, clean it, and put it back together. At this point, it was working so poorly, that I had nothing to lose.

So, on my daughter’s dining room table, I took it all apart, and found that there is this little radiator-looking thing on the “CPU” or central processing unit that dissipates heat as a cooling fan blows over it. The computer has a self-protecting temperature device that regulates the CPU based on temperature, thus slowing it down to generate less heat when it gets to a certain temperature. There was a decade of dirt, hair, and lint on this little component. Using rubbing alcohol and Q-tips, I cleaned an amazing amount of crude off of this thing and – problem solved.

It reminds me of life – we spend a lifetime accumulating crud in the dark private places of our hearts and lives. God in His rich mercy shows us those dark places, illuminating them with the truth of His word, and at the same time provides us a way to clean out those dark places. It takes a lifetime and a willing, humble, and transparent heart to allow Him to work with us on such an intimate basis. And just the fact that He is willing to work with us is something to be embraced with great joy. There is a song we sing sometimes that expresses this, “how deep the father’s love for us, vast beyond all measure.”

“…God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth…..If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:5 - 9