I love a good, hot shower.

Sometimes showering can seem like a big pain in the butt step to getting ready for the day, but other times, a hot shower is pure bliss.

When I lived in Kenya back in 2000, our water tanks were solar heated.  This meant that morning showers were going to be cold.  This also meant that cloudy, cool day showers were also going to be cold.

But night showers?

Night showers were almost always steamy, hot and relaxing.

I had a really unique shower in my house.  Because the house was round, the rooms inside were also round.  My shower happened to be in one “corner” of the second floor bathroom.  This meant that it had an irregular shape, but the builders just ran with it.

The shower was covered in gray tile and because of its size, it didn’t need to be enclosed by a curtain or door.  The shower head was situated so far from the entrance that there wasn’t any danger of the floor getting splashed.

It was just a big ole’ geometric area designated for showering, and I loved it.

I’d light a few candles and place them on the tile ledge and then crank the hot water up to full blast and get lost in the steam while shadows from the flickering flames danced on the walls.

Living in a third world country certainly had its challenges, but that shower was one of the few luxuries that I really miss.

After I had Grace, I remember taking a shower in my hospital room.  I felt like I’d been through a war, but the hot shower I took melted away the pain and left me feeling warm and happy.  I’ll never forget that first shower.

When Grace was just an infant I was plagued by “phantom cries” all the time.  She’d go down for a nap and I’d race to take a shower, but only minutes into the hot water therapy session, I’d swear I heard her screaming.

Many a glorious hot shower were cut tragically short for cries that weren’t even real.

Just yesterday, after a long day of getting things done around the house (including washing nearly all of my main floor windows!) I was exhausted and sore.  So, after I wrapped up my last project for the day, I hopped into a hot shower and savored every second of the relaxing, pain-relieving experience.

While a hot shower might seem like an entitlement in the culture and country we live in today, I know that is simply not the case and I try to always remember what a blessing and luxury it truly is.