Holy Shabby

One of my favorite lines outside of Scripture was penned by D. Elton Trueblood, "Holy shabby is still shabby." The good Quaker had a way with words!

When I was a child, a temporary US Army base was built along a well-traveled road a few miles from our home. The barracks were obviously not designed for long term use, but they were painstakingly maintained. Curbs lining the roadways were painted white. The fencing was taut. Vehicles were clean. Every row was straight. Not a scrap of paper was to be found on the ground.

Pat and I have been privileged to visit several vacation destinations. The thing that first impressed me at the Disney theme parks was the well-manicured lawns and landscaping. The parks set the standard for cleanliness in large open places. Hilton Head Island in South Carolina is gorgeous because of the community’s attention to detail and rigid adherence to codes and commitment to small items. While Broadway theaters may be ancient, owners who maintain them most meticulously give the performers a head start as appreciative customers notice and relax knowing that care has been given to assure a pleasurable experience.

Homeowners project a message to neighbors and visitors by the way they keep their properties. People subconsciously form opinions about car owners by the way their cars are kept. After employing hundreds of volunteers, I have learned a lot about people by how they care for their tools, and mine. Paint brushes left uncleaned after use, tools strewn about at the site of the last use and materials haphazardly stored account for more waste than I care to catalogue.

The network newscasters always look as if their words were about to shape world opinion, and they often do. A misspelled word or incorrect verb tense is as rare as an errant blade of grass in our favorite theme parks. Those who excel are aware of an image and understand the importance of details.

Dr. Trueblood’s observation, "Holy shabby is still shabby," is too often ignored by people with a genuine passion for God and doing good works. Attention to detail, neatness, cleanliness, and beauty make a difference. I have more opinions, many of them rather strong and passe, and applications for thoughtful people to consider, but our garage needs to be reorganized and grass is creeping over the edge of the blacktop.