UGH! How to get out stubborn stains...

This weekend, I escaped my crazy home and retreated with my mother to a lovely, local eatery to enjoy lunch. Afterwards, we went shopping for shoes before returning to her house for afternoon coffee, made by my favorite "barista", Grumpy. Believe it or not, he makes better coffee than that famous coffee chain, "Toomuchbucks" or something like that. Ha! Anyway, Mom was hunting for new walking shoes because not only has she worn out her favorite pair but the previous evening she had managed to splatter them with a large, permanent, greasy spot of BBQ sauce, also covering the shirt she was wearing at the time of the incident, now lovingly referred to as..."The Runaway BBQ Rib!"

Anyone who knows my mom knows that she inherited the family's "drippy" gene which causes her to drip food on herself at any and at most meals. Let me make a note about Mom for those who do not know her: She is not a messy eater. She has very polite manners. However, she inevitably drips something on the front of her blouse regardless of her very serious intent to be careful.

Having explained that, I was surprised at all the damage this BBQ sauce had caused, especially because Mom usually wears a bib, really an apron, whenever she eats food at home. Although this one time, she actually had forgotten to wear it. And despite forgetting to wear her apron/bib as she "rubbed" (seasoned with sauce)the ribs and even had eaten the BBQ, she remained clean and clear. She was so proud of herself managing to prepare and eat this very messy meal without ANY splatters or even small drips. Actually, realizing she had forgotten her apron and feeling proud of herself occurred simultaneously with the launching of the Runaway Rib. It was when she was clearing the table and began removing the ribs from the pan to the plastic container that it happened. Happy with herself and proud that she had avoided making a mess especially without wearing a bib, she reached in with the tongs and picked up a rib high above the left-over pool of BBQ sauce. Then, she lost grip of the rib (sauce-dripping, meat-covered) causing it to flip back into the sauce which launched a huge tidal wave onto her shirt and shoes. It's not funny, but the image in my head of this scene is of the rib as if it were the Runaway Gingerbread Man. Remember in the children's story, he sings to the farmer's wife, "I am the Gingerbread man and you can't catch me!"

Needless to say, Mom did not have to chase the rib back into the container as it teased her, nor did she eat it up quickly like the farmer's wife did the Gingerbread man, but she did begin aggressively treating the new stain on her shirt before it set permanently. As far as her shoes, she decided to take "the high road," figuring her old, newly-greasy shoes perfect now for gardening.

It really was inevitable that this happened. I mean, she forgot to wear the apron and she did inherit the "drippy" gene. Just like the fate of the Gingerbread man resulted from his constant teasing that challenged anyone to catch and eat him. Someone had to gobble him up! What is funny about this is that Mom never has like gingerbread. Ha!

Now to get out that stubborn stain! Oh Boy! I know a lot about stubborn stains since one of my chores each and every day is to wash a load of laundry generated by the Rumuly 7. And although the ingredients staining my children's clothes have changed from mashed carrots and biter biscuits to school paint and grass stains, getting out difficult stains from the laundry remains my mission. Hmmmm...Sounds more like Mission Impossible, only without Tom Cruise and relying mostly on Shout It Out.

Yeah, getting out stains can be an impossible mission. Even in church this morning we talked about getting out stubborn stains. What I mean is that every time I make a mistake or do the wrong thing it puts a stain on me. Really, I can't help getting stains because I, too, inherited the "drippy" gene. And even though I try to be careful by wearing a bib when I eat, sometimes I just forget to put on my apron. Now there might be times when I feel proud for not getting messy in spite of forgetting, but it's right then that the inevitable always happens: A tidal wave of BBQ sauce launches onto my shirt and shoes. I just can't help it. Hmmm....

Seriously, how can a person get out these stains? You might think that scrubbing Shout It Out onto the stain and letting it soak works best. You might think buying something new is the only resolution. But listen to the coolest and best way, and it doesn't require scrubbing or buying something new: "...but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." (1Cor. 6:11) Wow! That means my stains simply disappear when I call out to the Lord and confess that I am stained. So without using Shout It out and without just throwing me away for something newer and better, Jesus washes away my stains, my sins, making me better than new! Now, you can say that God actually completes the impossible mission!

Have a great week, and think about those nasty, permanent stains on your clothes, in your life. Remember who completed the impossible mission! I will not forget! M&R7