My husband and I were recently remarking how nearly everything in our home is beginning to seem STAINED. Our clothes, our furniture, our walls, you name it. When we first got married, we suited up in our best digs and started out our home with fresh coats of paint and fairly decent furniture. Now that we’ve been in the game a few years and added some toddlers to the mix, nearly everything is starting to show the wear and tear of everyday.
I run the laundry shifts at our home and seem to continually discover clothes (unfortunately after they’ve already been washed and dried) with big stains in obvious spots. Grass marks, red clay, paint, oil, berry juice-somehow my family seems to run toward objects that promise to deliver a huge stain on the chest pocket. The pieces get pulled from the clean clothes (mourning the fact that I most likely made the stain worse by heating the fabric in the dryer) and then they head for a swim in a bucket with some product that promises to work magic.
For some stains, I’ve tried everything…
- Oxi-clean
- Cascade
- Bleach
- W-D 40!
- Sunshine
And sometimes, I’m successful. But, there are those certain stains that refuse to go away. And these are unfortunately most often found on the pieces of clothing (or furniture) that we love and cherish most.
Oxi Clean my Soul
Looking at one of those stains the other day on one of my favorite shirts, I was reminded of the deep indelible stain that my sin has left on my deeply loved and cherished soul.
“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18
Every time I don’t love the Lord with ALL of myself and in turn love my neighbors, the cloth of my soul is more deeply stained with marks of scarlet red. And yet, instead of tossing me in the ‘give away box’ or cutting me up for homemade dust rags, Jesus has done and is doing the hard work of removing those stains and making me as pure and beautiful and perfect as freshly fallen snow.
As I look at these stains that I just can’t remove, I am working hard to realize how deep the stain of my sin is and yet how powerful and effective Christ’s sacrifice is to remove it completely.
Stains around the house and on beloved clothing is no fun-especially when the clothes are just getting comfortable or the furniture was just starting to feel right. But, I think I can manage a stain here and there if God will use it to remind me of the great stain He removed by washing me in the Fountain Filled with Blood.
Got any good stain stories to share? Would love to hear them. Don’t forget that all comments made this week enter you into a Coloring Book Giveaway this weekend.
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Amen! My stains are numerous and Huge but the Lord is good and His grace IS sufficient! Praise the Lord that He loves us, no matter how stained we are
Erika’s last blog post..Two Hands
Wow, this is timely. I spent the day today trying to “redeem” a load of whites from a tremendous amount of stains from some sneaky crayons that melted in the dryer. All of the clothing is ruined… I’m talking about my favorite white pants, 3 of my husband’s really expensive dress shirts, and most of our other whites we use on a daily basis. My hands are raw from scrubbing with WD-40, Oxi Clean, vinegar, dishwashing liquid, and bleach. Not a single spot has gone away… still a disaster! What a good remind at the end of the day that God’s grace doesn’t just make our stains lighter, but completely removes our sin from us as far as the East is from the West. I needed that reminder today.
Mindy’s last blog post..Oxi Clean…Redeemed
Thank you for your thoughts. I have been struggling with these very things. Your post is very timely and appreciated. I have read it several times in the last two days, and will probably read it again….