Mold...by Lucy

Joanna's dresser, while we were cleaning off the mold

For the past several months, we have been in the rainy season here at Refuge Ranch. Having nothing to compare it to, I can say that it is not what we expected. Julie tells us that it has not been a normal season, with more rain than normal. I can tell you that it is unlike any other summer I have ever experienced!

Since June, we have been wearing sweatshirts and jackets most of the day. We have had 3 blankets on our bed! We have kept our windows closed most of the time, and have had to hang laundry inside because of rain, sometimes for 3 days, to get everything dry. The other thing we have dealt with is mold...lots of mold!

We weren't really watching for it at first, so when we first saw it, it was pretty bad. Mark noticed that our curtains had mold growing on them, and then found some of our clothes (which hang against an outside concrete wall) were moldy. We took the day to wash things and put them away again. End of story, right? Nope. The next week, we noticed mold on other things like the baseboards (which are tile) around the wall, the back of the closet Mark had built, our shoes, the back of our dressers, the underside of the bed in our room, on the front door, on the windows, books, wooden spoons...You get the picture. It is difficult to keep up with it. Just when we think we have a handle on the problem, it crops up somewhere else! It is quite a job to be vigilant in watching for it, and getting rid of it before it damages our things. We have used lots of bleach, Lysol, and water, and lots of rags! Of course, prevention is the best solution, but we haven't quite figured out how to do that without a dehumidifier and thermostat! So we continue to watch and wash at the first sign of mold.

It is kind of like sin in our lives. If we are not watching out for it, it can grow into a monster that takes over everything in our lives. We must be vigilant to get rid of it at the first sign that it is there. If we don't, we end up with broken lives (and runny noses in the case of mold!) that need much more work to repair. We have to use the Word of God and prayer against it. We have to use daily Bible study and meditation to overcome it. Jesus, of course, is the ultimate safeguard against sin. After all, He defeated it! But if we allow it to creep back into our lives, it can harm even those around us with its stink! Have you checked your closets today? Is there any "mold" that you need to get rid of there? Don't wait! Take care of it. Take it to Jesus!

"Wash me of all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51:2
"Direct my footsteps according to your word; Let no sin rule over me." Psalm 119:133