The Stain

     I had an informal white skirt, that I especially like. One day, I was disappointed to discover two very large (2-inch diameter) brown-gold circles of a stain on the front of the skirt, prominently outside a pocket. I tried different stain-removers and washed the skirt repeatedly, but nothing worked to remove the stain. Also, I did not know what had produced the stain.
     Finally, I resigned that the skirt was ruined and unwearable, but I did not want to throw it out. I left it by the washing machine, and I usually washed it every week with a load of laundry, just in case repeated washings might help. I figured that even if I could no longer wear the skirt, it could be used as a pattern, to make another skirt.
     For quite a few long years (over 5) this went on, as the skirt sat by the washing machine and was routinely washed weekly, but the stain stubbornly remained.
     Then, I read an article that certain metallic or rust stains could be removed by putting lemon juice on the stain and exposing it to full sun. So, I tried this method as well (not knowing what caused the stain). To my amazement, the stain began to fade. So, for a few days, I repeated this procedure—pouring lemon juice on the stain and putting the skirt in full sun. After two weeks and two more washings, the stain was completely gone. The skirt was clean and wearable again! It was an outcome, that I never expected, after so many years.
     Thankfully, the stains (sins) in our lives wash off us so much more easily, without a wait of 5 years and repeated washing. Since Jesus already paid the price for our sin, we need to confess our sin and ask Him to forgive and be our Lord and Savior. So, as the lemon juice sun removed the stain from the skirt, the sacrificial blood of Jesus, the Son of God removes our sins as far as the East is from the West.