When You Find Jesus in the Bathroom
And then she shouts above the flush- “I found him, Mommy! I found him!”
I drop my dishrag and hurry down the hallway.
I arrive just in time to find Maggie elbow deep in hand soap, the sink nearly overflowing.
She casts me an ornery grin and opens her bubble-laced fist to show me the treasure she’s gripping inside.
Baby Jesus, a bit soapy himself, smiles up at me with that pudgy plastic face.
Maggie claps her hands, sends bubbles sailing through the air, and declares with a giggle: “I guess Jesus lives in our bathroom, too!”
For a moment, the good church-girl in me bristles.
But then I remember the real story; the not-so-cleaned-up-true-tale of how my Savior traded Glory for grit; traveled through the bloody birth canal of a fourteen- year-old-girl so He could join us here, in this muck of a world.
Those Christmas books we just packed away paint His birth scene so warm and cozy. Sleeping animals and fresh soft hay, a smiling Mary and a doting Jospeh.
But wasn’t that barn just a manure-filled cave?
And those midnight guests who came to worship, weren’t they just riff-raffs who reeked of sheep and dirt and shower-less nights?
Suddenly the sight of baby Jesus in my bathroom doesn’t seem so vulgar.
In fact, it seems right.
So we’ll keep playing our little new year’s game.
We’ll keep hiding baby Jesus in ordinary places and we’ll keep looking for Him day by day.
Because His name reminds us He’s here.
If only we will LOOK.
And perhaps if we train ourselves to LOOK for this little plastic Jesus, we’ll be reminded of the real Jesus, the One who waits to be found in the most ordinary of places.
Like barns and bathrooms and bedsides.
I think of the rabbi’s words I read in that book last night–
We place Jesus on our joy box near the kitchen table, because writing it down somehow makes it more real.
So we scribble our Savior-sightings on scraps of paper and keep them in that box, a simple way to remind ourselves that seeking Him always brings joy.
When they saw the star, they were filled with joy -Matthew 2:10
Maggie grabs a square of pink paper and tells me to write it down.
“Say I found Jesus by the potty and then write my name. M-A-G-G-I-E.”
I write as she dictates; then put my pencil down and remind my girl that our plastic Jesus is just a fun way to keep us looking for the real Jesus.
“Have you seen Him today?” I ask hesitantly, full aware of just how abstract an invisible Savior seems. “The real Jesus.”
I don’t expect an answer.
It’s enough to have asked the question, planted a seed.
She’s listened as we talk about it around the dinner table, has spooned her soup as we count the ways we’ve seen Jesus in our days. But I don’t expect her to really grasp it.
I shuffle around the counter and return to breakfast bowls piled high, drain the murky water at the bottom of the sink and reach for the dish soap.
Maggie watches a small bubble rise from the water and waltz in the sunlight that’s streaming through the kitchen window above the sink.
Then a slow smile blooms.
I turn to look her in the eye.
“…when the sun was all bright and shiny and it made my Barbie’s dress sparkle so much that she looked like a REAL PRINCESS. That was probably just Jesus saying hello.”
Maggie races happily from the kitchen in search of that shimmery Barbie.
“I’m gonna find her a prince,” she hollers as she disappears down the hallway.
And my Prince’s promise, the one that had jumped into my aching soul from the worn page of my Bible, echos loud as I dry the dishes.
-Jeremiah, 29:13-14, The Message.
And I wonder if this will be the year when one prone-to-blindness-mama finally begins to see.
Many thanks to the lovely and talented Melanie, at Only A Breath, for designing this marvelous button for me as a reminder of my focus in 2013. (She’ll make one for you, too, if you stop by and ask!)
Won’t you join me and all these other Jesus-seekers as we focus our hearts this year and open our hands to all He longs to give?
Counting the ways I’ve seen Jesus this week–
1738. Josh walking into the bathroom where I’m drying my hair, stretching his arms out wide and announcing- “Mom, here’s your present!”
1739. Walking by Lizzy’s open bedroom door and noticing her Bible lying open on her bed, highlighter lid still off and prayer journal filled with scribbles.
1740. Laine pausing to pray for me after church.
1741. A room filled with families all gathered for the Rozenboom’s send of to Honduras- the body of Christ sweating on the basketball court, munching on chips, laughing and crying.
1742. A husband who hugs me long even when he needs to hurry out the door to work.
1743. Baby Jesus sitting on top of my washing machine as I haul those puked-on-linens to the laundry room.
Happily linking with Ann for multitude mondays, laura for playdates with God, Jen for soli deo gloria, and a few new places for the new year-–The Better Mom, The Mom Initiative, Titus 2sdays,
What a joy to read this early in the morning. :^) patsy
What a sweet, heart-warming moment – and I love how that moment grew and grew and grew!Wishing you many more Jesus Sightings this week:)
Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed . God’s decree.
-Jeremiah, 29:13-14, The Message.
Thank you for posting this. this version. this message. this search for Jesus in the daily, the dirty, and the ugly beautiful.
Love it. Love it. Love it. That’s what counting the gifts does for me — forces (enables) me to see God in every one of my days. This is my first visit from Hungry for God, and I’m glad I stopped by 🙂
The things kids say….full of real truth and meaning. i love this!
I get overwhelmed at the thought of just how low He descended so that we might ascend. And that He came for the riff raff like me. I love how you are Looking for Him this year. Seeking Him with you!
What an amazing post and a beautiful way to help the young ones and remind our self He is everywhere when we openly seek Him and find Him even in the ugly everyday. I so apperciate this post Love it. Visiting from Wellspring
Blessings
Stopping over from Ann’s blog…..what a lovely story. As a grandmother of any I enjoyed reading this so much and could just see your young one running off to her room to find a prince for Barbie after speaking such words of insight for mom to hear. Powerful!! God bless….
I LOVE this idea. Except that before Christmas our baby Jesus was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in Bethlehem, an arrival of the wise men by helicopter and a T-Rex attack (Boy-mom trials). Thanks for stopping by AND for leaving a comment!
What a precious idea! …And a great reminder to look for Jesus in our everyday lives.