I am a Dirty Gym Bag

As I wrote this post yesterday, I really wanted it to be a fun and light hearted look at the reality of my day to day life...dishes, homework, budget, dirty laundry.  It took me a long time to finish because I kept feeling pulled to take the post in a different direction.  

Being new at this blogging thing, I was unsure of what to do.  Should I scrap the whole thing?  Ignore that still, small, voice?  In typical perfectionist style, I chose to do nothing.  

Until I remembered the commitment I made to listen to that still, small voice.  What follows is what has been whispering in my ear.

I am a dirty gym bag. 

Aren’t we all?  We all carry around hurt, guilt, shame, unforgiveness, unhealthy relationship patterns, selfishness, unwise coping mechanisms, jealousy, anger and assorted other dirty laundry if you will.

I have a tendency to lug all my dirty laundry around with me until I can barely take another step.  The zipper is straining and the pockets are overflowing.  I may even be dropping things as I make my way through life.  They spill out in irritation with those around me, stubbornness, and a feeling that I am owed something.  

God wants to meet me in the laundry room.  He longs to relieve me of the heavy load I am carrying.  The longer the bag sits without being attended to, the worse the mess is going to be.  

John 3:20 says, “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.” 

I have to be willing to unzip the bag and expose it to the light.

He will patiently unpack my bag one dirty item at a time.  He isn’t scared or surprised by what is there.  He already knew and He would have been happy to do a few loads of wash during the season instead of a heavy-duty load all at once.

So, let’s unpack the dirty football bag again, but this time with an eye on how the bag is just like us.

Some of the things in our bag just do not belong in there.  At all.  They need to go straight to the trash.  Ephesians 4:31(NIV) says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”  Some of these things fit me as well as a comfortable old t-shirt.  I’ve had them for a long time.  Even if they are nasty and mildewed they are hard to let go of because they are so familiar.  If I leave them in the bag, I WILL wear them again, even if I know they are gross.   Better to just throw them away and not be tempted to ever put them on again.

Other items in our bag may be things that we have outgrown as we have matured.  There comes a time when we have to accept that they just don’t fit anymore and they need to be put away.   1Corinthians 13:11(NIV) “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”  It is time to grow up and replace childish ways with those of adulthood.

The rest of the things in the football bag were able to be redeemed with a lot of Spray and Wash and scrubbing.  Did I get all the stains out?  No.  But, they are still usable.  

A lot of the dirty laundry we carry is also still usable.  Our hurts and struggles have a purpose.  Isaiah 61:3(KJV) “...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”  I love the way the King James version words this.  God wants to take our dirty, mildewed, nasty stuff, clean it up, and turn it into something beautiful for our growth and for His glory.  


Lastly, remember what WASN’T in the football bag?  Protection.  

We may not think we need protection, but there is an enemy out there who is much more determined than a lineman to take us down.  We need to make sure we are protected every time we step on the field.  

Ephesians 6:10-12 (The Message) “God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”

I don’t know about you, but I need to visit the laundry room a little more often.  

Oh, yeah, and, don’t forget your cup.