Stinky Socks and Laundry Soap

This past week I've had a bit of a cold. Not really anything that made me feel sick, but it certainly limited my sense of smell for a while. On Monday, a couple of my children began complaining that their room was stinky, but when I went in I couldn't tell. I encouraged them to clean the room but was unable to give specific instruction as to what to do about the odor that I could not smell. As the week progressed I would get a glimpse of the odor but never enough to define its source or give specific instructions on how to find it. Finally, last night I went into their room and it literally smelled like something had died. I told them to first make sure the garbage was empty (which it was as they had been trying somewhat halfheartedly to get rid of the problem) and then to start going through laundry, smelling everything as they went until they found the source of the smell. I had to go to the city, so I left them with that assignment.This morning, the first thing they told me was that they found the smell and had taken care of it.


 And so we have the miracle of a little laundry soap and water. The smell is gone and as bad as it was, the socks are clean and can be worn again. I loved the joy in the voices of my children as they told me of their victory and triumph over the seemingly elusive and severe problem at hand. Life is kind of like that sometimes it seems like it is full of dirty socks, but all it takes is a little laundry soap for the dirt and a quick rinse and things start to look and smell fresh and clean again bringing with it joy and peace abundantly.