The Great Lakes Shuffle

As Mamaw/Mary K. and I finished up washing dishes in our small apartment kitchen recently we discussed my tendency to dribble water on the old-hard-to-maintain vinyl tile floor when drying things! I was reminded of how difficult it was to keep a reasonable "shine" on the tile, and that she had just a short time ago found a liquid polish that made the task somewhat easier. Then I suggested that maybe we should try the "Great Lakes Shuffle" as a solution, but, of course, as a landlubber she had never heard of this. Well, this was the U.S. Navy way of keeping barracks floors spotless (?) at the Great Lakes Training Center/Boot Camp north of Chicago during World War II, where I was a "guest" for 8 weeks or so early in 1943. When reporting for duty the "boot" was issued clothing and shoes, but the shoes were then altered by adding a thick layer of black rubber to make drilling more "pleasant"! Now 150 pairs of thus-altered shoes do a

real number on un-varnished wooden floors in the barracks, so what's the simple solution? -- Each evening before taps every recruit was given a piece of steel-wool, then placing it under his shoe he did the "Shuffle," thereby removing the black marks and maintaining the U.S. Navy reputation for cleanliness! After sharing this with Mamaw I thought about the spiritual black marks that we all have made in our relationship with God. You see we don't need a "shuffle" of some kind, like good works or human wisdom, to know and to please the Lord, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin!" (I John 1:7) Have YOU tried this solution yet?