"Washed Away"

I must confess to you that I have a problem! I have a bath fetish. Not just a fetish, but an absolute need for all those living or visiting my house to take a bath before bedtime. I have been known to pull into the drive-way at 10:00 p.m and wake up my precious boys who had fallen asleep in the car and make them take a bath before returning to bed. It has actually become a joke among my friends that if your children are here for any length of time they will get a bath. Their parents are scared to linger too long at our house in the evenings for fear that "everyone" will be forced to take a bath. Now, one reason  for this fetish is that I like for everyone to smell clean, but I also do not like to do laundry so going to bed clean cuts down on how often I have to wash sheets and pajamas. Makes since to me! Apparently this is a learned behavior, but it is possibly herditary, since my children all like to be clean. (I know...4 boys?) They shower or bathe before bed and they shower when they wake up. If there is ever a time during the day that Jacob gets really quiet, I can usually find him in the back taking a shower. We all LOVE to be clean. I love the ring that is left behind in the bathtub because that shows that the dirt was washed away. It also means I can get out the clorox and I love to clean with clorox. (I told you I have a problem.) As much as I have a desire to see my children clean, I have an even greater desire to see that their hearts and minds are clean as well. I want the dirt in their heart to be "washed away!"  Psalm 51 is such a beautiful picture of what I desire for my children. Psalm 51:2-7  "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleans me with hyssop (branch used in sprinkling blood) and I will be clean, wash me and I will be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me." As parents we know that our children can and do sin. God has placed them in our loving hands to teach them the truth of His word. Now, I don't go around saying..."You little sinner!" But, I do point out the things in my children's lives that are sins and we define them as such, but it does not stop there. It is not enough to just say... you lied to your brother and that is a sin. Then they walk away going, "Oh, ok, so I sinned." We must teach them the rest of what God commands them to do. They must confess that sin to God and ask for forgiveness and confess that sin to the one they sinned against and ask for forgiveness. Then we can guide them in how they should have handled the situation. Wow! This parenting thing is a lot of work. It is not for the lazy, but it is absolutely worth it when we see our children growing in righteousness and having a heart for the things of the Lord. When I am bathing my young children I pray that the word of God will wash over them and wash away the sin and the dirt of their heart. Daily I pray that my older children will learn to identify the sin in their life and be convicted to confess it by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, not the prompting of Mom. The next time you are standing under that warm shower and the water is soothing your aching back, pray and ask the Lord to use His word to soothe your soul and wash you whiter than snow. The next time you fill up that tub full of water and bubbles to wash your precious children, remember the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross so that our sins could be "washed away." May we never look at bathing the same again. May it become symbolic of the cleansing our hearts and souls have received through Jesus Christ, the one who came so that are sins could be "Washed Away!"