Baggage Claim — Dirty Clothes - Thursday
Today’s Verse
Isaiah 43:18-19a
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing…” (ESV)
“Hey, Connor? I think the dryer’s broken…”
“Okay, well…let’s take a look.”
When I started working at Southland, I lived at the church—literally.
Near the back of our Nicholasville campus property sits a big, brick house overlooking the pond, and our church was kind enough to let me stay there for a few months. I had the place to myself the first few weeks, but was later joined by a couple of college kids starting our residency program. I’d never had roommates before, but at twenty-eight years old, I somewhat became known as the “house dad,” there to help with whatever the boys needed—up to and including broken appliances.
Examining the situation, I opened the dryer to find the most clothes I had ever seen: shirts, jeans, underwear—his entire bedding. Had this kid just tried to wash everything he’d ever owned?
Throwing a couple dozen pounds of wet clothes onto the floor, I tossed a few items back in and closed the door. Pressing the button, it started right up.
“Woah!” he exclaimed. “How’d you fix it?”
“The dryer wasn’t broken,” I smirked. “Your brain was…”
I’ve done enough laundry to know that too many wet clothes can weigh down a dryer. I’ve also done enough ministry to know that too much shame can weigh down a person… And when we’re holding onto the weight of guilt and shame, we break. Shame leaves us broken.
A few years ago, a man named Mark came back to our prayer room asking to speak with someone. After getting to know each other a bit, he revealed that when he was a young boy, he accidentally shot his brother in a hunting accident, leaving him paralyzed. Over the years, guilt ate away at Mark, sending him on a downward spiral towards addiction and divorce. “This one thing has ruined my life,” he said, choking back tears. “I just don’t think I can carry it anymore...”
I didn’t know what else to say other than: “Jesus already carried it to the cross. That was far enough.” Then we baptized him.
Shame leaves us broken—but Jesus makes us new. His death allowed Mark to let go of the weight of his guilt, forget the old, and joyfully step into the new.
Even if he was in very wet clothes.
REFLECTION
What are some ways God has helped you to let go of the old and walk in new life?
