bubble gum on a Bible

Saturday night, I discovered that Christian's Bible, new as of September, still had a glob of gooey, sticky, pink bubble gum on the front of its leather cover.

"Son! Come. Here!"

"Didn't I tell you to wash this off?! This is unacceptable. This is not how we treat God's Word."

"Yes, mam. I'm sorry, I couldn't get it off."

Obviously he hadn't tried hard enough!

-Sigh-

"Bring me a warm, wet washcloth; I'll help you scrub it off."

My 6 yr-old scurried out and returned with washcloth in hand. I set about showing him the proper way to remove the gum. Ugh! Christian was right - it wasn't coming off!

Thinking like one with experience in the school system, I thought, "Ah, we need to scrape it off."

"Okay, buddy, let's scrape it off with these scissors."

Not working well... not working well at all.

Christian's hands now gooey. Bible still a mess.

Frustrated.

That's when the Holy Spirit showed me.

I held up the Bible.

"Christian, do you know what this reminds me of?"

"That it's not okay?"

I held his face gently, as tears formed in my eyes. "Baby, this is just like my sin and your sin. We can try and try to scrub and scrape it off, but it won't work. Who do we need to make us clean?"

"God."

"Oh yes, Baby! We need God who sent our Jesus to die to make us clean. God loved His son sooo much, but He new we couldn't get it off. So He sent Him here to die for you and for me."

Now Christian sobs.

I sob.

The grace of the moment overwhelms us both, as a mommy and a son very much in need of a Savior hold each other, and the Spirit allows us to once again see the Truth.

That night, I let my children read me the Easter story, in their own beds - a gift stamped and delivered with the word "MERCY."

Oh sweet mercy.