Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Darren Milam
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
First off, as you reflect on the picture, you should be able to tell this is not my ‘usual’ style of imagery. I typically lean toward including nature images to accompany my written words. Second, it’s a bit embarrassing to share the image AND have to explain why I didn’t swap the filter out sooner!
OK – we’ve established the image you see, is a side-by-side comparison of an air duct filter. The one on the right has a much different hue to its counterpart on the left. Without zooming in (highly discouraged) I can tell you, the hue is not based on a different brand of filter, or a different selected coloring pattern. Nope, the blackness you see is . . . filth, pure and simple. It’s all the dust particles, dirt, and dog hair that were collected over the course of a 6-month period. The embarrassing part of this, besides the stark contrast, is I know better. I know to change these filters out — at least — every 3 months. What happened? I forgot, that’s what happened.
The bright white filter on the left of the screen is clearly the new, the replacement. That’s the good news; I had a replacement. I had one to take the place of the old, tired, and (quite frankly gross) one. I guess you could say, it’s the light at the end of a dark tunnel.
So, what does this have to do with a daily walk with our Creator? Everything. What happens if we forget to check-in with God? What happens when we forget our prayer time, or our scripture time or a literal walk as we bring our celebrations and concerns to our Savior? I’ll give you one guess — it looks a lot like the filter on the right. Our mind and heart start to collect the bad stuff, attempting to filter our own results in the collection of stuff we don’t want at all.
Now, what happens when we change out and replace our filter on a daily basis? You see that beautiful white as snow filter? That’s what our heart and mind can aspire to be — clean and bright.
In Isaiah 1:18, we read:
…Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
This was a promise God was making to people that were willing to seek Him, obey Him and ask for forgiveness. I truly believe that the same promise holds true for us today. We need to seek Him, obey Him and desire the forgiveness we all need, in order to see that darkness turn pure white!