Cleansing Power of Jesus

What does hairspray, a bar of soap, white vinegar, rubbing alcohol and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser have in common?  It all started with me gathering laundry.  And then I found it—an epic ink pen explosion on Dave’s Marc Anthony jeans.

On the right leg, there was a deep purple Rorschach ink design with splatters going outward.  I gasped.  No…not Dave’s favorite jeans.

I took a can of hairspray and went to war. As I sprayed, I blotted the deep purple ink into an old white cloth. Ha, I’m making progress…I thought, still naïve.

When I lifted the jeans I realized I had made an epic mistake.  By not putting a cloth inside the pant leg, I had transferred the stain onto the back of the jeans. I sighed, saddened, but not ready to give up.

Twenty minutes later, I was out of hairspray and time. I cleaned up the mess and decided to let the jeans sit for a day.  You see, I had recently resolved to try to fix things instead of replacing them. Little did I know that the stain had a costly lesson to give me.

Calling in Reinforcements

The next morning, I pulled out the damp jeans and spread them on the kitchen counter. It was time to call for help.  When Dave saw the stain he sighed.  “Wow, that looks bad.  I don’t know honey.”

“Please help me,” I said. “I need your strong arms.” We quickly moved to straight rubbing alcohol, pouring it straight on the stain and blotting until our arms ached.Yet, when I finally pulled the pocket out we realized that it was full of purple as well. “Honey, the ink is in the very fibers of the jeans,” Dave said sadly. Yet we pressed on.

Finally, after 45 minutes of us laboring together, Dave had a brilliant idea—to soak the stained spot in a combination of boiling water, white vinegar and rubbing alcohol.

After a ten-minute soak, I drained off the light purple water, to find only a small stain remained. I whispered a prayer for victory.

Suddenly, Isaiah 1:18 came to mind.

“Come now let us settle the matter,” 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

I stopped dead in my tracks, stunned.  I realized I had a precious opportunity to understand sin and forgiveness in a new way. You see, even more so than purple ink, scarlet dye has incredible sticking power.

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Trying to Outpace God

There are moments in our life where we are truly aware of our humanity, our frailty and our inability to control anything. These moments give me perspective on how little control I actually have. These moments bring me to my knees before God and help me to put my faith and trust in Him over myself.

Romans 10:17 “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

The older I get in my faith the more I see my need for God, the need to spend more time in His word, to drop to my knees and cry out to Him more and rely on Him over myself. To seek strength in Him over myself.  Ironically, when I was younger I thought it would be the opposite, that over time I would need less, because I’d be better, stronger, and wiser. There were so many instances when I was sure “I knew”, now I just know better.

Lately, all the circumstances in my life have shown me how much I need to mature as a disciple of Christ and as a leader. How much more guarded I need to be with my words and opinions because they can potentially hurt the faith of those around me. I need more faith in accepting and accomplishing the little things in my day-to-day and greater faith to get me through the darkest, hopeless times. This faith is fueled by my increased time in God’s word and my belief in its power not only for myself but for others. It is the ultimate source of wisdom for all circumstances.