Have you ever had a stinking cold?! You know, the ones where your head feels like it's going to explode because there is so much muck in your tubes. I'm talking about a cold that gets you through a mansize box of Kleenex in a hour because the snot seems to increase each time you blow. If you've ever had a stinking cold you'll know what I mean. Haha. You feel gross, mainly because the infection is so bad that it keeps reproducing mucous in order to rid the body of all those nasty germs. You feel embarrassed in public because you just keep needing to use those tissues. And you feel people stare in a disgusted manner with each blow you take, because let's face it, someone blowing their nose with a heavy cold is one of the worst noises out there! Haha! I know that when I've had a cold I want to stay home, firstly so nobody catches my germs (good decision people), and also because I don't want the general public to see or hear the muck that's on the inside of my ever exploding sinus tubes. Last week I was on smokey mountain in the crazy yet oh so wonderful city of Manila. Smokey mountain for those of you who don't know is the original rubbish dump. There are currently 200 beautiful families living there. Their living conditions are some of the poorest I've seen in the whole world. They have nothing, yet in true Filipino culture, they face each day with a smile and are grateful for the breath in their lungs, even if that breath is contaminated by pollution and poisoned with mercury! On this particular day visiting the mountain I helped lead a kids outreach. We played games, sang songs, shared the Christmas story, said prayers and gave out bread (which was supernaturally multiplied! More on that in another blog!!). It was so humid that day. I'm not a girl who sweats but on this Saturday morning, I have to admit, I was dripping wet. I was tired from playing with the kids and took a breather as my friends continued to lead games. I just wanted 5 minutes to recover, to cool myself down, but then I saw him.. First of all I wasn't sure of his age because all I could see was a green adult sized polo shirt draping to the ground hiding the size of his body. He was crying. In fact He was sobbing. Love compels us to action, and forgetting that I was taking a break, I stood up from my two seconds of rest and walked through the crowd of hectic kids. I bent down and picked up this gorgeous little boy. I'm not sure what he was so distraught about (and I still don't know) but he was sobbing from the pit of his belly. His whole body was shaking as sadness flooded him. He was crying so much that his eyes were swollen and snot - the thick, mucousy, yucky kind, was pouring out of his nose towards his mouth. His body was drenched in sweat (like mine!). I held him close, he continued to cry. I tried to pull him in closer, but his little body, that was completely naked and covered in dirt under his baggy green t.shift, was rigid.
The more he cried the more the tears and snot flowed. It seemed to flow so freely. It didn't take long for his snot to pour into my shirt, adding now to the mix of his sweat and my sweat. But I didn't care. This little one was deeply sad and I wanted to comfort him and bring peace to his distressed state. It took a while to console him. I began to sing and pray over him. I held his little body tight and pulled his head into my shoulder. I kept singing. I kept speaking peace. And the snot kept flowing! Down my neck and onto my shoulder. His little chest rattled so bad with each sob (as many of the kids here have TB). Soon the sobs got less and he began to relax in my arms. Until finally he was at peace. It was like his body turned to liquid and melted into my arms. Although the snot continued to flow and drench my t.shirt. I held him for a while longer and when he seemed happier I sat him back down with the kids where I'd found him. He looked up at me, big brown eyes, snotty nose, sweaty head, full of beauty and wonder. My heart melted, again. What a precious little one. I was overwhelmed and sensed the love of our Heavenly Father for him in a powerful way as his gaze stared into mine. I guess I sensed it before and it was that Love which compelled me to reach out and hold him close. But in that moment as his eyes starred up at me I couldn't help but think of the times when my snot, my brokenness, my pain has poured out of my life. It's only when I've allowed Father God to embrace me that I feel peace. It's only when I've let the snot really flow without caring what I look like on the inside or outside that I've experienced true healing and freedom. See, the thing is, we all have snot. Whether it's insecurity, unforgiveness, jealousy, abuse, failure, physical pain, secret addictions or lack of self worth, we all have snot at one time or another. The most beautiful thing though is that Jesus can handle our snot. Often we want to hide it from the world, from those we love, mainly for fear of rejection. But, Jesus is standing there with His arms wide open. He sees our snot and He wants us to rub our little snotty faces into His embrace. He wants to take our snot away. You may think I'm talking a bit too much about snot, maybe I am, but the truth is, we really do all have it. Whether it's exposed for the world to see or whether it's hidden in the deep places of our heart, we all have it. And we have a choice, we can live crippled by our snot and bring it to every relationship and season of our lives, or we can get help and get it cleaned up. What's your issue? What's your snot? Jesus can handle it. He doesn't condemn you, He loves you in your mess and chaos. All He wants you to do is come as you are. He will take the snot and the rubbish and give you a brand new life if you'll just ask Him. There's nothing too dirty that He can't restore and redeem. He can wash that snot right out of the fabric of your sleeves in an instant! So my prayer for you today is that you'll be bold enough to rub your snotty nose on the shoulder of the One who loves you the most. That you'll allow Him to wipe it away and make you new. I also pray that you'll be bold enough to wipe the snot off of someone else's life. Healed people heal people. Let's not be afraid when we see a snotty nosed kid. Let's love the snot out of people. Life is for loving and for living
