In 1956, author Gene Zion and illustrator Margaret Bloy Graham teamed up to publish the first in a series about a dog named Harry. The first book, “Harry the Dirty Dog,” is still on the National Education Association’s Top 100 Children’s Books. Click below to watch actress Betty White read it:
In this book, Harry is a white dog with black spots who hates baths so much that he buries his bath brush in his backyard and runs away from home. He plays by the railyard, next to a construction crew, near a coal mine, and with other dogs. In these adventures, he gets so dirty that he becomes a black dog with white spots and completely unrecognizable to his family when he returns home. In fact (spoiler alert!), he has to dig up his bath brush, beg for and receive a bath in order for his family to recognize him as their dog.
There are times when life’s adventures make us unrecognizable to those who know us best. Sometimes, we can become unrecognizable even to ourselves. Sometimes, these changes can be good. I have a dear friend who loved the ‘90’s grunge look yetput away the flannel shirts and torn jeans and started wearing skirts in the 2000’s when she needed to cultivate a more professional look. Other times, though, these changes that make us unrecognizable can be because we compromised our integrity, or we failed to live into our values. Do you recognize yourself by your actions? We may find ourselves doing something that we swore we’d never do. It may somewhat value-neutral, like buying a minivan, or changing our hair style, or it may be an action that has a significant impact (positive or negative) on your overall well-being. We all change; it’s normal to change, and our values change, too. As you grow and change, it’s important to stay true to yourself and the values you currently hold. You may well be like my friend, who changed in such a way that her old self wouldn’t recognize her. I remember hearing a speaker once who said that if the you of five years ago wouldn’t consider the you of today heretical, then you’re not growing spiritually.
At the same time, you may find yourself more unrecognizable than you’d like, and there are spots and dirt that you need to wash off so that you feel like yourself again. We all pick up bad habits along the way; perhaps it’s time to shed some of them. Or, maybe habits which served you well in a previous season no longer work. In a different story, Harry could have a reason to intentionally cover himself in dirt and soot. Maybe he needs to hide.
The Sunday after Epiphany is Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, when we read about Jesus's baptism by his cousin, John the Baptist, in the Jordan River and we remember our own baptisms. Water can cause transformation. Water washes away dirt and makes it clean. Water over a rock over a long period of time gradually wears away the rock. Water, in the form of rivers and streams, runs along the ground, creating inlets and riverbeds. Where I live is currently under a flash flood warning as I type this post.
Transformation caused by water can happen quickly, like a flash flood, or it can take years. Most research says that it takes about two months of consistently engaging in a new activity for it to turn into a habit. If you can keep your New Year resolution going until March, then it’s a successful new habit. So, as you create your new map for transformation, what do you need to wash off in order to make yourself recognizable to who you are today? And, can you do it for the next two months?