The Shower Basket

I changed my shampoo.
I wanted something organic with all natural ingredients.
I found one that smelled wonderful; there was also a conditioner as well.
That is the one I bought.

We got all of our bathrooms redone a few years ago.
Instead of tile, my husband wanted to get marble around the shower.
I did not complain since marble is so much easier to clean.
All I asked was that there was a tiny shelf tucked in a corner on which things can rest.

Our shampoo fit nicely in the special alcove that was designed for that purpose.
It fit nicely until I got my new shampoo.
I thought my husband might be willing to try it.
I was mistaken; the old shampoo is good enough for me, he remarked.

Now I needed to find a place for my very round bottle of shampoo and conditioner.
I knew that my husband did not want a shower caddy hanging from the shower head.
That option was out of the question.
My round shampoo bottle did fit next to his shampoo but it was a little tight.

The conditioner had to go on the ledge next to the shower door.
I put the conditioner bottle in an out of the way place yet still convenient for me.
When I was at the store with the bullseye, I happened to see a shower basket.
Remembering my husband’s objection, this seemed to meet all of his criteria.

It did not hang on the shower head.
It would get the very round shampoo and conditioner bottles out of the way.
It still allowed my husband to keep his shampoo where he likes it.
It allowed me to have my shampoo and conditioner together in one place.

I liked the basket because it said that it was new, and improved, and would never rust.
It had two knobs that you actually turned in order to fasten it to the shower.
Turn the knobs counter clockwise to open and clockwise to close.
The directions had a red X over tile and uneven surfaces.

However, for marble surfaces there was a large green check mark.
I was so happy that I found just the right thing.
I brought it home.
I went upstairs to put it in the shower.

I turned the knobs counter clockwise to open.
I held the basket against the marble wall exactly where I wanted it to go.
I turned the knobs clockwise to tighten.
I tested the basket by giving it a little tug.

Success.

I put my very round bottles of organic shampoo and conditioner in the basket.
They were right within reach.
Th basket did not interfere with my husband’s morning routine.
I was very pleased with my find.

I was making dinner so that we could eat as soon as my husband got home from work.
I was going to a women’s Bible study that night.
My music was on as I was cooking.
I thought I heard a noise but I could not leave the stove to check.

My husband came home and went upstairs to change.
He came downstairs ready to eat dinner.
I had this sinking feeling that the noise I heard was my new shower basket.
My husband never said anything so I never thought any more about it.

I got home from Bible study and still had a bit of writing to do.
My husband went to bed.
Minutes later he came downstairs.
Everything OK? I asked him.

Your shampoo bottle fell in the shower.
The cap broke and the shampoo is everywhere.
I tried to rinse it away, but the drain is clogged.
He went into the laundry room to get a screwdriver from the drawer.

The wonderful organic shampoo, that I only used a few times, was coagulating in our drain.
The thick shampoo had been laying there for a few hours.
I heard the sound; why didn’t I go upstairs to check?
Trying to rush out the door, I actually made things worse.

The whole bottle poured down the drain? I asked.
The whole bottle, my husband answered.
The drain is working now, he said, the shampoo was just too thick at first.
I don’t think your new basket works too well, my husband said.

New and improved was written on the cardboard wrapped around the basket.
What was brand new?
The concept?
The design?

The knobs did not work.
Old fashioned suction cups would have worked much better.
New and improved is not always best.
I thought I was being so creative but I made things worse; I was right back where I started.

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16)

New and improved is not always better.
Sometimes the way things have been done before is really best.
God’s Word tells us to look for the ancient paths, the good way, and walk in it.
That message is counter cultural.

Old ways?
How can they be helpful to us?
We are modern, progressive people.
We don’t need dusty old words from some book to guide us.

That kind of thinking couldn’t be more wrong.
God’s Word is eternal.
God’s Word is relevant today as much as it was when it was penned.
God’s Word is truth and truth does not change.

God’s Word is our North Star.
God’s Word is our compass always pointing north.
God’s Word is our plumb line, against which we measure everything else.
God’s Word is our absolute standard.

I thought I was being so clever.
I thought a new and improved shower basket could do a better job than a marble shelf.
I was gravely mistaken.
An entire bottle of organic shampoo was wasted as it poured down the drain.

Nothing can improve on God’s perfect Word.
We do not want to waste our life trying to find the new way to do everything.
We have the best way, God’s way.
God’s Word is absolutely true and perfect.