This past week, I discovered that one of my kids had left a bottle of McDonald’s chocolate milk on the top shelf of his locker. I have no idea how long it had been there… but… long enough, if you know what I mean! It was tipped over on its side, and because of the souring effect, it had leaked. The smell was enough to make me nauseous. I had smelled something all week whenever the kids were at their lockers, but the times I smelled it, I just assumed that one of the kids’ coats or backpacks had a strange odor. I couldn’t ever pinpoint the smell, and never really took the time to look! The poor kid wasn’t tall enough to see it up there on the shelf where he had stashed it some morning past…
Well… it definitely got worse as the week went on, and by the time we found what it was, the odor was nearly unbearable. We did our best to disinfect the locker…. But the stench has stayed on for the long haul. Every time the locker is opened, I want to vomit from the smell. It carries down the hallway, and it doesn’t take long before everyone notices it. Close the locker though, and the smell is gone.
I kept thinking that as the days went by… the smell would go away. Well, it hasn’t. If anything, it’s intensified. I went in today to try a couple of different methods of absorbing the awful smell, and I made sure that the locker was left open to air out. I even put up a sign to make sure that it stays open! The hallways reeks, but hopefully the time to air it out will do it good.
This little event this week got me thinking...
How many people have something in their life that is not exactly pretty, something they keep hidden because the “smell” of it is not pleasant for others to be around. We can probably all admit to being there at some point, if not now. Maybe it’s deep pain from something in the past, an addiction, bitterness, anger, or maybe it’s just the discouragement of a life that is simply hard to keep on living. As Christians, we want to help these people! We search out those who are hurting and try to help them. We pray over them, let them cry it out on our shoulder, and then… we expect the problem to go away.
We expect the smell to no longer be there when we talk to that person. So, what does that person do? For fear of looking like a failure for not being “fixed” yet, they close the door. They hide the pain, the anger, the addiction. We go on thinking that we did something so good. Yet, the problem isn’t gone, it’s just hidden again. Deep pain, addictions, anger… they can’t be fixed with one disinfecting cleanse of tears and prayers. If we don’t follow through, ask the tough questions on a regular basis, and allow the door to stay open for an extended period of time… the problem may not go away.
It’s not easy nor always pleasant to leave the door open, to expose ourselves daily to the smell of messy lives. But God didn’t call us to the live the easy or pleasant life. He called us to love as He has loved us. God has never once given up on us, because we take too long to heal. We can’t give up on others or expect an easy fix because we prayed for them. Someone you know has a door that they desperately want to open, to air out their pain. Will you love them enough to let them open the door and keep it open? Will you be a safe place for them to stink in order for healing to begin?
I kept thinking that as the days went by… the smell would go away. Well, it hasn’t. If anything, it’s intensified. I went in today to try a couple of different methods of absorbing the awful smell, and I made sure that the locker was left open to air out. I even put up a sign to make sure that it stays open! The hallways reeks, but hopefully the time to air it out will do it good.
This little event this week got me thinking...
How many people have something in their life that is not exactly pretty, something they keep hidden because the “smell” of it is not pleasant for others to be around. We can probably all admit to being there at some point, if not now. Maybe it’s deep pain from something in the past, an addiction, bitterness, anger, or maybe it’s just the discouragement of a life that is simply hard to keep on living. As Christians, we want to help these people! We search out those who are hurting and try to help them. We pray over them, let them cry it out on our shoulder, and then… we expect the problem to go away.
We expect the smell to no longer be there when we talk to that person. So, what does that person do? For fear of looking like a failure for not being “fixed” yet, they close the door. They hide the pain, the anger, the addiction. We go on thinking that we did something so good. Yet, the problem isn’t gone, it’s just hidden again. Deep pain, addictions, anger… they can’t be fixed with one disinfecting cleanse of tears and prayers. If we don’t follow through, ask the tough questions on a regular basis, and allow the door to stay open for an extended period of time… the problem may not go away.
It’s not easy nor always pleasant to leave the door open, to expose ourselves daily to the smell of messy lives. But God didn’t call us to the live the easy or pleasant life. He called us to love as He has loved us. God has never once given up on us, because we take too long to heal. We can’t give up on others or expect an easy fix because we prayed for them. Someone you know has a door that they desperately want to open, to air out their pain. Will you love them enough to let them open the door and keep it open? Will you be a safe place for them to stink in order for healing to begin?