The Dirty Diaper

"Ew, Dad, that stinks!" Kallie held her nose dramatically. Dad placed her baby brother on the changing table and unzipped his jammies. "Cash just needs a diaper change, that's all." He smiled down at the baby who wriggled on the mat. "Let's get you cleaned up, buddy."Kallie looked on as Dad worked on cleaning up the baby. She scrunched her nose and frowned. "I don't know how you can do that every day," she said. "Don't you and mom ever get tired of changing his diaper?"Dad chuckled. "Well, Kallie, I won't lie to you, I didn't always have a very good attitude about changing diapers. When you were a baby, I may have even grumbled a few times.""Was I as stinky as Cash?" Kallie asked."Maybe even stinkier!" Dad teased. "Why don't you still have a bad attitude?" Kallie asked.Dad fastened the new diaper onto his son and zipped up the jammies. "It wasn't anything I did," he said. "But over time, as I changed more and more diapers, the Lord reminded me of something." Dad picked up Cash and gave him a kiss on his chubby cheek. "He helped me realize that He does something similar for me."Kallie raised her eyebrows, confused about what Dad could mean."Cash isn't able to keep himself clean," Dad said. "He's just a baby! He needs someone to wash all the icky stuff off his skin and put him in a fresh diaper. That's sort of how it is with me. The Lord helped me realize that just like a baby needs someone to clean them, I needed Jesus to clean me of my sin. It's not something I can do on my own. Jesus washed me clean and made me a new person when I trusted in Him, and He continues to show me His grace and forgiveness each day.""And so you don't mind changing diapers now because doing it reminds you of Jesus?""That's right. It's always an opportunity for me to remember how much my Father in heaven loves me, and how His mercy and grace cleanse me from all my sin."-Emily Tenter