The Cup

"I would just throw it away" my daughter said to me after I discovered Theo, my grandson, had put his sippy cup into one of his play buckets. He hadn't been to our house for a couple of days, so that cup had been sitting there long enough to create it's very own science project. You can imagine what was inside. Yes, it was milk; chocolate milk to be exact. Oh the site and smell of milk after it's had time to separate and spoil. Just one of the many joys of parenting. Or in this case, grand parenting.

  Theo loves his chocolate milk. We have this little routine, when I am making it for him, where he patiently waits as I put in the powder and stir it up. I then take the spoon, with a little milk in it, and watch his eyes dance from excitement as I let him lick the spoon! Oh to be a child again, when a simple lick of a spoon brings such joy! We sure have fun when we are together! I love being grandma! 

  I thought about my daughter's response and, I must admit, it was tempting to just throw away the cup and pull out another one. That certainly would have been the easy way! I have been guilty of tossing the cup back when my kids were toddlers. But the more I contemplated tossing it, I thought to myself, "this cup is a good cup!". It wasn't old, in fact, it was in great shape. It just happen to be the victim of negligence. I have raised four kids; this was not a first for me. So, I made the decision to clean it.

 I took the cup, holding my head far away as to not smell the aroma it was sure to bring, and I opened it up. Hot water running and tools in hand, I started tackling the mess. As I worked, I began to think of how that cup is symbolic to life, and how sometimes we get lost in the midst of the chaos around us. We wind up getting stuck in our own "little bucket", ultimately ignoring or forgetting all about our problems. Those problems have no other option but to sit and sour within us. Slowly we become like that cup. If you've ever dealt with a sippy cup, you are aware of all the holes and spaces in which liquids can seep. Likewise, our lives have holes and spaces and, if allowed, our mess will seep into each and every one.

  I am so thankful that no matter how big or difficult a mess we create within ourselves, God will never toss us away. He will reach in and pull us up out of that "bucket". Then, He will go to the dirtiest, most difficult places to make us wholly clean. His love is perfect and has no limits. 

  I used to have a pretty big mess inside me. I felt alone, rejected, and unworthy. I reached a point where the only hope I had was Christ. I reached up, let Him pull me out of "my bucket", and wash me clean. My friend, do you feel stuck in a "bucket" with a mess so big you don't know what to do?  I encourage you to reach up, let Him pull you out, and wash you clean. Just as He did for me, He will do for you. 

 "What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus." 

2 corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." NKJV