I come from a long line of allergy sufferers. My mother took so many antihistamines in her lifetime that it lead to a serious condition which required big time surgery. I do not take anything for my allergies, but instead sniff and blow a great deal. My little Buddy is probably one of the offending allergens.
He has no need to fear being eliminated from my environment. That along with dust mites, pollen, etc., which are impossible to totally avoid, are the offending parties. So I keep a box of tissues in every room, my car, and usually my pocket. I KNEW BETTER than to put a tissue in my pocket and not check those pockets before washing the garment. IT HAPPENED!
NOW to compound the problem, the tissue was in the pants pocket of a pair of BLACK pants. I wash all my dark clothes together in one load. We all know I have a pair of black yoga pants for every day of the week. NOW the tissue did not stay confined in the pocket of those pants which would have made life easier. The water shredded it into a million (I PROMISE) tiny pieces. Those tiny pieces stuck like glue to each and every garment in the load. I now am the proud owner of a load of dark--speckled with white--clothes. Do you know what fun it is to try and remove all those tiny specks from the spot they decided to stick? The dryer helps, but is not full proof. It eventually takes hand picking some of those little shreds. NOTE TO SELF--CHECK POCKETS--YOU ARE NOT RELIABLE FOR REMOVING TISSUES!
SO, it occurred to me how like sin this problem is. When we sin, it has a ripple effect. The sin does not remain in one piece--only affecting us or maybe one other. It gets loose in the world and the world shreds it into pieces which stick to all those in its path. It is like throwing a rock into the pond. The rock does not sink without causing ripples. Those ripples leave the place of impact and travel all the way to the edges of the pond. Even those edges can be affected by the wave if it is large enough. Then we are left to try and clean up the mess we have made. NEVER dreaming one little sin could leave such a huge mess. The answer--just as we need to check our pockets for offending tissues to keep from making a mess of things- so should we carefully consider the mess we will make by that one little sin.
WHO KNEW--laundry could stimulate a blog!
"Be sure that your sin will find you out."
Numbers 32:23
I wish I had a dollar for every time I've left tissue in my pocket when doing the wash, Lulu. Great analogy here, though, as it is such a true statement about the pervasiveness of sin.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
You and me both, Martha! In the old days when I did laundry for a family, I occasionally found money. Clean cash for my pocket!
DeleteBlessings!
I loved finding money in the laundry but tissues or notes someone stuck in their pocket. The tedious process of removing all the little bits of paper. Oh what a pain ! I am thinking February is fading away, only 4 more days! Have a great weekend. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLesson learned--at least temporarily!
DeleteBlessings!
thanks for the reminder to be fully aware of the ripple effect our lives have, Lulu. we're living out our legacies each and every day. and someone is always watching.
ReplyDeleteAMEN!
DeleteBlessings, Linda!