What is in that Baby’s Diaper?
This is a story that gags me to tell, but it is too good to not let you all in!
You guys that know me personally, know that I never had kids. You also know that it literally gags me to see stuff on a kid's face like spaghetti, a smashed birthday cake, stuff running from the nose...etc..(gagging just thinking about it!).
You also know that I DO NOT CHANGE DIAPERS. I can't - I'm sorry I just can't! And I am a sympathy puker - if you puke there are going to be 2 clean-ups in Aisle 3! And no, I cannot clean up after my doggies, either, George has to. It is really an awful way to live! lol
I can tell you I have tried about 3 times in my life to change a diaper and none of them ended well. All of them ended with me vomiting and thinking I will never recover!
SO MY CHURCH (BRAT) STORY begins:
Tiffany was a baby. So we are looking at about 30 years ago! I was in cosmetology at the time and we had been learning how to make, shape, and put on fake nails. Now, they are not the nails you see today! The beautiful, realistic-looking nails! No these were the worst! Just the odor from the solution was almost unbearable and the end result was even worse, no matter how good you were!
First off, I didn't like fake nails on anyone, much less myself. I was still in the process of figuring out what was right & wrong, sinful or man-made...etc. I was not excited. I wasn't even sure if it was "legal" in God's eyes!
For practice, we had to do each other's nails. The day came to get my nails done. I was dreading it. I decided I could remove them later as I sat down and let my friend do her thing.
She got the crazy things on and did the solution over them. The bell rang for us to go home and she didn't have time to do the "finishing touches." No filing or cutting them down, so I was stuck with the most awful mess on my fingernails you have ever seen! They were so long and thick that I couldn't do anything. I couldn't hold a fork, it was hard to open a door, do dishes...etc. These were sooooo long and they were as hard as a rock. I realized on my way home, I had church that night!! I looked at my hands, it wasn't a pretty sight!
So the story begins!
Jay, my brother, and I were sitting together in church and Tiff was on my lap. As usual, my dad was preaching and was really getting into it. I was intently listening...then I catch a whiff of something awful, an odor I will never forget. I thought it was my nails. I was embarrassed, so I didn't say anything. I tried to ignore the odor that was burning my nose!
Jay smells it, too. I still was pretending to not notice. Jay looks and whispers, "I think she (pointing to Tiffany) did something?" I looked and thought "something?" What does he mean? I shrugged my shoulders to say I don't know what you mean. (I should have known something was coming because Jay got a sneaky grin on his face...I completely missed it!)
He nodded and pointed to Tiff's diaper (sorry Tiff but you are part of the story). I am still like "what?" He then proceeded to tell me she probably had "soiled" her diaper. Soiled her diaper? I literally had no clue what he was saying. I look and whisper, "Well, how do you know?" He motioned for me to slide my finger in her diaper...yes, he did...so I did! Yes! I did! He couldn't believe it. He was laughing so hard I thought he was going to have to leave. At this point, I am still questioning what was suppose to happen...then I looked down because I felt something warm on my finger --- yes! She HAD "soiled" her diaper!
I ran to the bathroom, gagging and puking and trying to pull that stupid nail off my finger. It was on there to stay. It was not popping off. I scrubbed my hands and then found bleach and poured it over my hands (ouch!). For days, I felt like I could still feel that "soil" on my finger.
I asked him later why he said that to me and he responded with something like, "I never thought you would actually do it!" Yeah, I was old enough to know better, but I never dreamed that would happen!
My dad told me later that it wasn't appropriate for me to act "such a fool" in church. Listen, people, I was married at the time. My dad still made me feel like I was 12! I was going to explain what happened, but there was no explaining. I just said, " I am sorry dad, but you need to have a conversation with Jay, too! Dad was surprised, "Jay?" Now, why in the world are you blaming that kid for you acting that way?"
Really dad??? Really! I still owe payback to Jay now that I think about it!
WHAT'S ON MY MIND? GLAD YOU ASKED!
I have thought about how the diaper covered up the "soil" but not the stench. We could still smell it without actually seeing it. It wasn't visible but we knew something was going on in there! More Jay than me, granted, but still, we didn't have to see it to know.
Oddly enough, this made me think of God and His creation (us).
God came daily and walked and talked to Adam. I can only imagine what they talked about. Maybe how funny the monkey was or how majestic the lion was. Maybe about how good Adam was doing with the job God gave him to take care of the garden.
Genesis 2:15-16 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
IDK, but they talked every day!
Then one day God comes for His walk with Adam (and Eve). He knew something was different. He didn't have to see it to know it. He could smell the stench of sin. It has such a foul odor!
He called out to Adam. Adam and Eve were afraid! Afraid of a God, a friend, their Creator. I haven't read anywhere that tells me Adam and Eve were ever afraid of God until that day. That moment when they saw themselves in a fallen state. Their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked. In shame, they sewed together fig leaves to cover themselves.
They listened to the serpent. The lies. They allowed those lies to go in their ears, to their mind, and then to their hearts. They gave the devil a moment of their time. Letting it go to their hearts made them afraid of God. Their hearts had changed toward Him. But His heart was still beating for them but He knew things had changed.
God would come in the "cool of the day" for their daily walk. That day, for the first time, Adam and Eve missed their appointment with God. God knew that things had changed between them. I assume that God felt the sting and hurt of betrayal. He wanted Adam to tell Him what was going on. He wanted to hear Adam say it out loud. So, He called to Adam. He wanted both of them to own the truth of why they missed their daily walk. He wanted them to admit that they had sinned against Him.
God would come in the "cool of the day" for their daily walk. That day, for the first time, Adam and Eve missed their appointment with God. God knew that things had changed between them. I assume that God felt the sting and hurt of betrayal. He wanted Adam to tell Him what was going on. He wanted to hear Adam say it out loud. So, He called to Adam. He wanted both of them to own the truth of why they missed their daily walk. He wanted them to admit that they had sinned against Him.
Read about the fall here. It is really an interesting story of God and man.
Read about the fall here. It is really an interesting story of God and man.
Do you think that God was fooled? Do you think that God really didn't already know? Do you think that Adam and Eve liked what they were experiencing after listening to the serpent (the devil)?
Let me ask you this:
What is your fig leaf? What are you covering up? What is making you miss your appointment with God daily?
Is it an addiction? Is it complacency? Is it envy or jealousy? Is it greed? Is it gossip? Is it distractions of this life? Is it shame? Is it guilt? Is it an idol you have set up to worship - could be anything - whatever is prioritizing before God is an idol?
Pray and ask God to reveal to you what your fig leaf is.
PRAY THIS WITH ME TODAY (in your own words)
Amen
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