The Sad Pot

Proverbs 2:14 (MSG)
These losers who make a game of evil and throw parties to celebrate perversity,


I had a sweet friend come to visit me today.  She is only three years old, but the Bible tells me that I should imitate her child like faith, so I was very eager to spend some time with her.  

 The first thing I noticed after having been in her presence for only about three seconds, was that she was not at all ashamed to embrace.  She threw off her coat and came running to me with her arms wide open and jumped into my arms.  Awe...what a gift to be so uninhibited and living in the moment, that we would wrap our arms tightly around those we love and bury our head in the warmth of their love.   

Secondly, I observed that she is excited to pray!  Every time the meal was served and we prepared for thanksgiving to the Lord, she would jump up and say..."I want to pray".  I also listened intently to how she would talk to the Lord.  Each prayer that she offered, used the same words: "Thank~you Jeeeesuuuus for this food and thank you for this day....Aaaamen".  Although the words were the same the emotion was so palpable.  As I listened, I really knew she meant it from her heart.

Finally, and probably the most eye opening to me, was what I learned from her as I washed the dishes beside her.  I gathered her up in my arms and stood her up on the chair next to me where she could get to the water and really help clean.  As we were working together, we came across several pots from our meal that were pretty dirty.  She helped scrub the first one and rinsed it off.  It was shining  and beautifully polished.  She was so proud of that!  The next one, we washed thoroughly, but when we rinsed it, there were dark ugly stains at the bottom of the pot.  She said, "That's still dirty!"  She tried to wash it again, but the blemishes would not come out.  She repeatedly washed and rinsed it, but to no avail.  Eventually, I had to take the pot from her and explain that the pot was clean, but would never look the same because it had not been taken care of properly in the past.  I shared my story of how I had left the "sad pot" on the stove too long and it had almost caught on fire.   As a result, the pot still cooks amazing food, but would always have marks from where it was injured from someone's carelessness. 
My friend didn't like that.  I had to distract her to get her to stop trying clean that pot.  I think in her mind it was still dirty and she would not quit trying to make it clean.  I learned from her that child like faith never gives up.  I learned that once a person gets stained from the darkness of this world, (the  perversity as the verse calls it) the marks are always there....they never go away.  Oh they may fade with time and walking with the Lord, but they will always be there.  And yes, thankfully with the Lord's healing, we can move forward and be used by Him for our intended purposes. 
I am mindful today, that there will never be a time when I want to be celebrating depraved behavior or making a game out of evil, because I realize that those scars will be carried with me forever.  Lord, help me today to stick close to You, so that I won't be confused on who to follow!