grace flows down

Spring Cleaning

I've decided to start a new trend. This summer, while I was hooked on reading random memoirs, I came across several authors who talked about a Jewish ritual called Mikvah. Related to the biblical cleansing laws, women go monthly, after their monthly cycle, to a special "spa"-ish thing to be completely purified before they can return to their husbands. The cleansing involves a shower, exfoliation, nail care, the whole nine yards. I really like this idea, not that I'm exactly preparing my body for someone, but I think that certain principles could apply. So I think I'm going to start practicing it, only the Gentile version. Basically, what I propose is an excuse to spend an evening pampering yourself, but why shouldn't we set time aside to take care of our bodies? As Christian women, we should not neglect the skin God gave us - so why not make a practice of it? If we're the temple of the Holy Spirit, I'm sure He would appreciate living in a house without rough skin and unkept nails. To help my intentions along, I bought some fantastic olive-oil bath soak from L'Occitane today to set aside only for my girly session. I think my body will thank me for my new resolution. So it's not a crazy religious ritual (ahem MOTHER), but merely upkeep with your body, like some guys do with detailing their cars. It's setting aside a regular time to care about the little things, like exfoliation and olive-oil baths, rather than letting your feet thicken with callouses until you scrub them off the night before the open toed sandal-required event. More like a Christian form of the French toilette.

posted by Shannon Koons @ 8:22 PM