Sunday, April 21, 2013

Oh, Poop!

     From the archives:  October 2, 2005,
     On a beautiful Saturday morning eight years ago, Mr. Odell came to clean out our septic tank.  Now I know many of us have them, but most of us don't discuss them, particularly at church on a Sunday morning.  I did just that.  Here is what I shared.
     When the big septic tank truck roared up our driveway my youngest children, Anthony, age seven, and Connor age four, hurried out to see what was happening.  The truck with its huge hoses was far more interesting than any Saturday morning cartoon.  Even better, the man driving the truck had a shovel and was looking for a good spot to dig.  The boys were excited.  They were under the mistaken impression that a treasure was going to be found right in our front yard!
     Mr. Odell has known Pat and I for years and so we chatted while he was digging.  Connor was yanking on me, climbing me and being his usual charming self.  Anthony however, was full of questions.  "What are you doing?  Why are you digging?  What will you find?"
     Mr. Odell patiently explained that the truck was a "poopy truck."  He continued digging and explained the general process of toilets, pipes, and septic tanks.  Anthony's eyes got bigger and bigger with disbelief.  He thought Mr. Odell was telling him a funny story with some bathroom humor.  Mom certainly didn't tell stories as good as this.  He moved closer.  Mr. Odell was clearing the dirt away from a round door hatch with a small handle.  Anthony was thrilled, clearly Mr. Odell had found something.  Mr. Odell lifted the hatch and tossed it aside.  I took a firm hold of Connor so he wouldn't go for a swim.
     Anthony crept even closer for a look.  Sure enough there was something down there.  Anthony peeked in the tank, gasped, and jumped back.  He was overcome and appalled.  He was looking at two years and a family of eight worth of yuck.  Anthony peered up, his brown eyes huge, and solemnly said, "Mommy, I will NEVER poop again!"
     Mr. Odell and I laughed as Anthony, full of impossible good intentions, ran into the house and closed the door.
     This reminded me of a passage in Romans written by Paul.
     I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is the sin living in me.  I know that nothing good lives in me, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but is sin living in me that does it.
     So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.  For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.  What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death?  ~Romans 7:15-25
     We all know what it is like to have good intentions, to set our minds and hearts on accomplishing some task.  We make great plans; to eat a healthier diet, to start an exercise program, get up when the alarm rings, get to places on time, to somehow be good enough.
     In our minds, we say, "This time I'm really going to get it together."    But then we eat the donuts, the exercise bike sits alone in a corner, we hit the snooze button, and we are running late everywhere we go.  Some of us feel that we should clean ourselves up before we come to God or even deepen our relationship with Him.  Like Paul and Anthony, we want to do good, but we don't.
     Fortunately, it is not what we do that saves us.  It is what Jesus has already done.  Jesus has done all that needs to be done for our forgiveness.  He has paid the price for our sins.  Nothing we will ever do will add to our salvation.
     Who will rescue me from this body of death?
     Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.  ~Romans 8:1-2

11 comments:

Unknown said...

What a beautiful post! I love it...I can so see my two boys running to the window to watch the excitement too! I mean seriously a BIG truck and poop they would be in heaven! :) Love how you apply it to Paul's teachings. My husband often try to take bits of life and show the children how the bible teaches us. I think those are some of the times they learn the most. It makes the passages stick and gives them a reference point that they can understand.

Thanks so much for following Mice In The Kitchen and I will be following along with you as well!

Have a GREAT Monday!
Laura

a joyful noise said...

I laughed at your story and I could just see those inquisitive boys anxious to discover the treasure. Thank you for sharing this delightful story at "Tell Me a Story."

Mamal Diane said...

Love your funny family story. It's so very true :) Thanks for sharing at The Gathering Spot. Enjoy your week :)

Pam O'Brien said...

Hi Donna, I just popped over from The Wellspring and was tickled to find your daffodils picture and Romans scripture. Look at the irony:
http://thankfulexpressions.blogspot.com/2013/04/romans-81-2.html
Thought you'd be tickled by it, too! :-)

Rebekah said...

Loved this! I have a kid who sounds just about like your little guy - especially the part about needing to hold his hand so he doesn't go for a swim! ;) Thanks for sharing - found you at the Womanhood With Purpose blog hop. -Rebekah
http://rebekahmhallberg.com

Jody Lee Collins said...

Oh, Donna, just clicked on over from Cheryl's True Vine Challenge. It's been awhile. This connection made me smile.......doesn't God just use like everything to speak to us if we are listening?

Melanie Wilson said...

How cute. :-) That must have been a VERY yucky sight. By God's grace, we're accepted in our yuckiness. Thanks so much for visiting The Inspired Day.

Jennifer @ JenniferDukesLee.com said...

Gospel truth here! Thank you so much for sharing with #TellHisStory.

Sinea said...

Can't tell you how often this scripture has comforted me.
Thanks so much for adding this link to my blog hop.
Hope you can come back again this week....goes live Tues 7pm EDT!
Many blessings
Sinea
Ducks ‘n a Row

Alicia said...

This story makes me giggle... my littlest ones cheer when the truck pulls up to clean our septic tank! It's like the day's highlight. next time the truck pulls up, I'll need to remind my kids of Romans 7 and 8! Glad I stopped by :)

AngieOuellette-Tower said...

Absolutely fantastic post!! I laughed & loved how you worked God's word into your story. Thanks for linking up to my “Themed Blog & Shop Hop!”
Angie
godsgrowinggarden.com

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