I will never forget the day that I was painting the master bathroom.  I had just finished with the last of the painting.  It was late, I always painted late at night when the kids were little.  Of course, I was tired and thrilled to be finished with the room.  All that was left was to clean up.

As I went to remove the ladder from the bathroom, I was unaware that I had left the open can of paint on the top of the ladder.  I carried the ladder out of the bathroom into the bedroom so I had more room to collapse it.  There was no problem until I went to set the ladder down.  At that moment, a feeling of disaster quickly swept over me.  

I felt the weight of the ladder shift and saw white paint flying through the air in all directions.  The gallon of paint was three-quarters of the way full.  The window, curtains, wood, bed, and floor were covered with paint.  I only allowed the feeling of disaster to stay with me for a few seconds because I had no choice but to save the carpet.  Replacing it was not an option and living with it would have been challenging, to say the least.

I immediately prayed for God’s help and quickly knew I was to work fast and smart.  I continued that prayer the entire two hours it took to clean up the disaster.  Somehow that prayer took my mind off worrying and forced me to take action.  Step by step I worked fast and smart starting with the areas that would dry quickly and become permanent.

I knew that I needed to keep the paint from drying, so I quickly poured a gallon of ammonia over the paint on the carpet.  I then started with the curtains and put them in water so the paint would not dry.  As I continued with the cleanup, I continued to pray that I would work fast and smart.  Each time I finished one area of cleanup I was drawn to the next.  After the curtains, I cleaned off the wood, put the bedspread in water, cleaned the window, and then was forced to focus on the major disaster.

I took one look at the carpet and prayed that somehow I would be led to a solution to save it.  Again praying that I would work fast and smart.  I started with the areas of carpet that would dry quickly.  Continually praying for a way to tackle the major areas of disaster.  

The area was so enormous that cleaning it up by hand was not going to work.  My thoughts went to a wet vacuum, but I did not own one.  What I did have was a carpet cleaner.  As I started to see the white paint fill the Bissell cleaner, I had renewed hope.  

Throughout the rest of the cleanup, my focus changed to giving thanks (and praying that the Bissell cleaner would not get clogged before I finished!).  I was thankful for the focus and clarity to work fast and smart.  I was grateful for the ideas that made the cleanup successful. 

I again was in awe of the power of prayer and the power of living for something greater.  

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