'Gottcha Covered

On Tuesday I spent all day taking care of my stepmother who is slowly but surely recovering from being real sick. She is able to be out of the bed a lot now but is still not able to do anything but get up and eat or sit in her recliner and read the newspaper or watch TV. So someone stays with her night and day and I have been trying to do my share. I usually do some cooking, some cleaning, and some laundry while I'm there. And some visiting. It's a good time to catch up on that, too. :)

The other day while cooking for her I accidentally let the smallest of her stainless steel pots get too hot and it discolored the bottom on the inside. I was mortified that I had let that happen! I immediately tried scrubbing it with a metal scrub pad but that didn't help. I tried scrubbing it with salt. That didn't help. I could tell the discoloration was there to stay. She's always been careful of her pots and pans and to tell you the honest truth....I was afraid to tell her what had happened! I felt like a child who had been caught doing something wrong. It had been a long time since I'd felt that certain feeling of dread in my stomach!

I know you are gonna think this is awful.....and it is!....but I actually thought about just washing and drying the pot, putting it up and not saying a word to her about it. She never cooks anymore and so might not see it for a long time. But then probably the next person who got it out to cook in would say, "What happened to your pot?" And she would guess. Or know. That I did it! And then she would be mad. Or sad. Or just disappointed that I didn't tell her.

So, I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and took the pan over to her held behind my back. With a tremor in my voice I said, "I did something that is going to upset you." She looked VERY surprised ....but not upset....and said, "What's that?" Then I told her what had happened and that I was so very sorry about it! I held the pan out for her to see. She seemed glad that that was all that was wrong. ha She told me that it was all right and that it wouldn't affect the way it cooked and that was all that mattered. I felt such relief ! I was so glad that I didn't try and hide what I had done even though it was an accident and not done on purpose. That would have gnawed at my heart till I would have been sick. And such a childish idea in the first place! Good grief! I can't believe it even crossed my mind!

Proverbs 28: 13 says "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." That's exactly what happened with my stepmom. Had I covered up the accident, she would have been so disappointed in me when she found out! But when I confessed it she was quick to forgive and have mercy!

The same principle applies with our Heavenly Father. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1: 9

What a blessing we enjoy as Christians to have our sins forgiven and covered by the precious shed blood of our Saviour, Jesus Christ! "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered." Romans 4: 7

I'm glad He's "got me covered" !

Marilyn