I was bending down to put on my cool new trainers when I saw it.

I paused before bringing it closer to my eyes.

Could it be? Surely not… Why blasts!

Smack in front of my eyes, the proud and repugnant black smear became clear.

Its center was as black as coal. The smudge had streamlined to cross the boundary where the sole meets the fabric (outsole). I rubbed it and found that that only caused the smudge to become forever interwoven with the fabric, much to my chagrin.

Always one for taking pride in her shoes, I had diligently waited in line the day after Thanksgiving for these cool new trainers. They were specifically designed for high impact running. Running was something I planned on adding to my elliptical and Pilates exercise regime.

I envisioned the miles I would run as I paid for them that day. I excitedly laced up my trainers and proudly strutted around my room. It had been years since I had purchased white trainers. They are so prone to filth and we know that filth is not becoming to a lady, even a sweaty-athlete lady.

As I pranced about my room springing from the wonderful arch support and shock resistance, it was then that I decided to reserve these shoes solely for gym-use. After all, I wanted to preserve their pristine condition.

I dutifully carried my trainers to and from the gym and inspected the machines I exercised on. My diligence in this matter was more than a little neurotic, I’ll admit, but I had fallen in love with my trainers. I was determined to keep filth far from them. They were much too pretty.

As I wrinkled my brow dutifully searching for how I had gone wrong, how this smudge had escaped my radar or how it had even gotten there, I was struck with an epiphany.

The smudge on my white trainers is strikingly similar to the black sin that often smudges our metaphoric robes of righteousness.

My intentions were good, but it was bound to happen. I was bound to misstep and cause a smudge to tarnish the condition of my trainers.

Similarly, we all have good intentions of remaining pristine as we “walk” in faith, but we are also just as prone to misstep.

It is bound to happen.

We have not yet been perfected in Christ and so we are bound to sin from time-to-time. This fact of course is neither to condone this nor to encourage more sin. Just because I found one smudge on my trainers did not mean I was going to throw my hands up and stomp around in the mud.

Instead of losing heart at the way we slip up, we must bring our smudged trainers, our smudged robes to Christ. He alone can wipe away the filth that we may have stepped into or purposefully walked through.

You are going to misstep; allow Christ’s truth of forgiveness to help you stay free of condemnation. Continue in diligence to prevent future missteps but do not become discouraged as you see smudges or even giant stains threatening your righteousness. Christ can handle it but more importantly, he can teach you how to walk properly so as to avoid such missteps.

That smudge may permanently tarnish my new trainers and reduce them to simply trainers, but Christ can wash away any and every stain with his atoning and purifying blood.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

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