Stubborn Stains

As I removed a tag hanging off the wire hanger of a shirt picked up at the dry cleaners, I noticed there was a large “X” next to the words: “Sorry, this is the best that can be done.”

I would’ve tossed the tag into the trash without a second thought, but something about the words “Sorry, this is the best that can be done” struck a chord in my memory.

When I was 6yrs old, I was the proud owner of a very sweet pair of red Mary Janes. I wore them at every opportunity and remember feeling an extra bit of fabulous whenever I had them on. Around the same time, my family moved to England where we rented the gate keeper’s cottage on a sprawling estate, among old and ancient history, surrounded by farm land and no one younger than 50. Playmates were few and far between, so when a family down the road asked us to visit, I was beyond excited because they had a little girl my age. Dressing to impress, the red shoes were put on for an extra measure of confidence.

No one told me we were going to a pig farm.

I climbed part way up a fence to see the pigs for myself and when my foot slipped, both shoes went directly down into a muddy slop. The little girl who lived there thought it was hilarious and I decided right then there was no future for us if she couldn’t understand what a disaster this was. Mother tried to clean them up as best she could, but the smell was horrendous and her efforts were an exercise in futility. I tried wearing them, stains, smell and all, but they were unbearable. As much as I hated to let them go, the shoes had to be tossed out.

And so with life sometimes, we journey in this world hoping for the best, for happiness, and good times, and companionship, and instead end up walking or falling into a mess.

We are left with stains. And the best that could be done was not enough. The heart that so recently beat was not able to survive the operation. The relationship that shared everything now languishes unattended. The dreams long strived for have little resemblance to the current situation. Time for letting go.

But our letting go is not a giving up… it is a giving over. We give this stain, this pain, over to God. We let go so we can let God. For God knows these stains have left their imprint on our heart, and He asks us when we give them over to Him to trust that:

“…in the gulf of our unknown being [He] works behind our consciousness… coming forward through regions of our darkness into our light, long before we begin to be aware that he is answering our request – has answered it, and is visiting His child.” ~Geo MacDonald