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By Ann Farabee

I stepped away for just a second. It was long enough for her paper towel bib to be removed and the bowl of spaghetti to land on the front of the white shirt.

She screamed, “It won’t come off! It won’t come off!”

She tried to wipe it away with all her might — as sauce and spaghetti noodles flew.

No, it won’t, sweetheart.

It won’t come off.

Apparently, it was more than a 4-year-old can endure, because tears came. Although I was the one who should be crying, I tried to comfort her. After I convinced her to take the shirt off and exchange it for a clean one, I tried to blot the stain out.

Blotting it out did not work.

I then began washing it in an attempt to remove the red stains from the white shirt.

I soon realized I had used every stain removal technique in my repertoire.

The stain remained.

It could not be made white again.

It was stained beyond repair.

It had lost its value.

Something about that white garment stained to a crimson red made a connection in my spirit.

It reminded me:

Sin will stain what it touches.

But there is a solution that can take away the stain and blot out our transgressions.

Isaiah 1:18 says, “Though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow.”

1 John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.”

Isaiah 43:25 says, “I am he that blots out your transgressions and will not remember your sins.”

What can wash away our sins?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow

That makes us white as snow.

Sin won’t win.

The stain won’t remain.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at  annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

By Ann Farabee

“You are doing a great job!” were the words my principal spoke as he left my classroom. Hearing him say those words melted my heart. I clung to his every word.

“I love you Mom,” were the words written on a note pad and handed to me many years ago by my six-year-old son. I wrote back, “I love you, too.” The look on his face melted my heart. I clung to his every word.

“You are really good at puzzles!” I said to my little grandson as he was working away. He smiled and then gave a lengthy explanation of puzzle-working strategies. The look on his face melted my heart. I clung to his every word.

Those were three simple moments in my life:

*Words from an employer I longed to hear. Words that made me want to be better.

*Words from my child — written in love, handed to me, and remembered years later.

*Words my grandson enjoyed hearing and I enjoyed saying. Words of encouragement.

What if it had been this instead?

“Hopefully you will improve the longer you teach.”

“You left out the comma.”

“Is that all you like to do? Work puzzles?”

It certainly would have taken away some precious memories.

The power of words.

Words said.

Words written.

Words heard.

They all mean something.

Choose them carefully.

They may be remembered years later.

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones.”

A honeycomb is a place where bees store their honey. It seems like a good idea to have a storage place for our sweetness and our kindness.

Oh, we do have a storage place. It is in our hearts and in our spirits. God puts it there for us to give out to others.

Good words. Worth much. Cost little.

A kind word — can change someone’s day and sometimes change their lives.

Be careful of the words you say — keep them short and sweet.

You never know from day to day which ones you’ll have to eat!

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at  annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

By Ann Farabee

By Ann Farabee