Far far away

Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away! Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Psalm 32: 1-2

That Psalm was in my prayer book last week. I read it last Friday (one of the few days in the past week that my prayer book has actually been opened).

I was reminded of it yesterday, when I had a moment to rest and I opened up the book to that most recent reading. My heart caught on the idea of “putting away”: God putting away our sin, our guilt, our shame.

All week I’ve been putting things away. Packing and packing. Shoving toys into a pile in a box, rolling clothes in my preferred suitcase packing  mode. There has been much care taken. Packing always requires care, right? We separate and fold. We wrap and place. Each item is packed away, put away, the way it most needs to be handled.

I’ve been thinking about that. Today movers will come into my home and they will carefully (I hope!) wrap and pack and move our things. They will take care. A couch doesn’t need the same treatment as a wine glass. A dish demands it’s own particular handling.

What if that’s how God deals with us in our weaknesses? Careful: treading lightly, wrapping what needs to be wrapped so it will travel softly in the journey? Removing it from its original prominence and setting it away?

Today I will probably be stressed. I’ll probably pace and grind my teeth and bite my nails. But, in the clear moments, when I’m grateful, I’ll be thinking about the God who takes the worst parts of me and puts them away. The God who says: There, honey, let’s ship this box to the depths, okay?

And, if I’m remembering God’s goodness, I’ll say: Yeah. Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. I’ll watch him wrap it tight in bubble wrap, set it in a box that says: FAR FAR AWAY and I’ll let it go. I’ll feel the ache but I’ll let it go…