Stain Lifter

If there is one place I’d prefer never to find myself again it’s down to my skivvies in the handicapped stall of a nice restaurant. Let me back up.

I was out to lunch with my family at an amazing family-style Italian restaurant. My in-laws were treating us to lunch in honor of my husband’s 31st birthday. We actually made it there on time, a feat that always surprises me when we have the little ones in tow. We sat down for a nice meal, all dressed up for the happy occasion. Our two-month-old slept in her infant carrier while the two-year-old “ate” her lunch and maintained a volume that was appropriate for the setting (another pleasant surprise).

As baby started to stir, I realized I had passed the half-way point in my meal and it was still warm. What a treat! But, the sheer joy of eating warm food must have clouded my good judgment. I picked up my sweet little baby to give her one of my enormous mommy hugs. In the middle of our embrace, I noticed her diaper felt full, so I grabbed the diaper bag and we excused ourselves from the table.

As I walked into the bathroom, the baby started to fuss—loudly! I felt badly for the other woman in the bathroom with her daughter, having to endure my child’s shrill shrieks echoing off every surface in that bathroom.

I rushed into the handicapped stall and single-handedly flung open the wall-mounted changing table, whipped out the diaper changing necessities, and laid my now-screaming baby on the cushy changing pad. And that’s when I saw it. Amid all the squeezing mommy cuddles and fussy baby bustle, poo had shot up the front of the diaper, out the side of her onesie, and smeared all over the both of us. (Yes, I know this is gross, but sometimes being a mom is gross and so, I’ll share it anyway.)

Before the bathroom door closed behind the exiting woman, I said loudly and with much hesitation, “MA’AM!?!”

She came back into the bathroom, “Um, Yes?” she replied.

I nervously explained, “There is a table of people right outside the door; that’s my family. Could you please ask my mom to come in here? Her name is Tish.”

Trying to ignore the fact that I was mortified, I ripped off the poo-stained dress and asked my mother-in-law to rinse it in the sink as I turned my attention to the baby. My mission was to get my baby clean and comforted.

After much maneuvering, I got her cleaned up, diapered, and clothed with the backup onesie. My mother-in-law got most of the poo out of my dress, which I was forced to put back on in order to get home. It was, needless to say, an uncomfortable journey.

I kept replaying the embarrassment of being covered with my daughter’s poo in my head. I was covered in her stains. I was covered in her stains! It wasn’t until her 4 a.m. feeding, when the whole house was quiet and I had time to just “be,” that I realized God knows exactly how I felt. In Jesus Christ, He willingly bore the embarrassment of being covered in the stains of His children. He knew the burden of an uncomfortable journey and yet He kept His focus on His mission of cleansing us of our sin. What a comfort it is to know just how much God loves His children!