Cleaning our stains

Racheal Bola-Keji, 10th Oct 2019
Tags: Life Blog Insecurity University

My mother used to tell me from a young age that how you keep your kitchen reflects who you are as a person. 

I never used to understand what she meant, until I came to university and had to share a kitchen with 7 other students.

I was mortified at how some of my housemates kept the kitchen. Most of them didn’t care to keep it clean at all. 

Image Credit: Tenor

Throughout my first year, I mentally categorised them based on their kitchen habits, just so I knew what I was dealing with.

I soon realised that there were three types of people: 

1. The one who never cleans up after themselves and is very comfortable with the mess. For example, they leave the dirty dishes piled up for days in the communal sink.
2. The one who is secretive in mess, and is very good at hiding it. For example, they take their dirty dishes to their room or hide it in a cupboard so that no one sees it. 
3. The one who cleans up immediately, and often cleans up after others too. For example, they'll wash dishes as soon as it's been used, or will clean the stove if it's messy.

Which category do you fit into? 

For me, I know that I am type 2. I would hide my mess from others, so I could maintain the ‘clean image’.

I’ve always known that if it wasn’t for judgment of others, I would be a confident type 1.

Image Credit: Giphy

I know that by now you're probably thinking: why are we talking about kitchens? Don’t worry, I'm getting somewhere. 

Although I disliked my flatmates' habits and behaviours, I never once told them to clean up or consider those around them. I just used to tolerate the stains, dirty dishes, and overall messiness in the kitchen. 

We ignore the things that make us unhappy.

Some of us do this in our everyday lives. We ignore the things that make us unhappy, e.g. family issues, relationship problems, insecurities, etc. We prefer to just carry these burdens around with us instead of dealing with them and tackling them with God's help. 

These are metaphorically our everyday stains. They leave a mark on our hearts, but are never cleaned. 

The thing with stains is that the longer we leave them, the more they stick, and the harder they become to clean.

Just like if we leave our burdens unrestored and hidden, in the long run, it will be harder to tackle and get rid of. But there is good news in knowing that God is here with us at all times. And he wants to help remove them.

Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.

There are two verses in the bible that tell us this: 

• Deuteronomy 31:6, which says, 'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.'
• 1 Peter 5:7, which says, 'Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.' 
  

God has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He wants to care for us, and he wants to help us remove these stains in our hearts. 

When we invite God into our lives and to have a relationship with us, he enters into our hearts and lives there. This means that our burdens are his burdens, our pain is his pain, and our stains are his stains.

Image Credit: Giphy

One thing I’ve learned from my university experience is that being a type 3 is easier when God is in the mix. Cleaning is always easier when we have a helpmate. God is that helpmate. 

I just want to encourage those who feel like they are type 1 or type 2, that God cares. 

He has his hands wide open, ready to receive us and help us.

God is available to help. He doesn’t want us to walk over our burdens and pains. His hands wide open, ready to receive us and help us clean our stains. We just have to be open to his help.

You can invite him into your life and ask for his help today. He wants to hear from you.