Sometimes, God uses the strangest tools to reach people.
Before we left El Salvador, my team had the opportunity to visit a home for children who had more or less been abandoned by their parents.
I’m not sure exactly why, but I’ve always had a knack for making friends with 3-4 year old boys, and within a few minutes, I had a group of about five of them following me around, begging to wear my watch, and sharing their toys.
One of these toys was a small truck that I pushed across the floor repeatedly. They would race to go get it, bring it back to me, and the process would repeat itself.
At one point, one little boy decided that the car needed an occupant and brought me a Spiderman toy. I took Spiderman from him and immediately noticed that his cotton body was drenched in some sort of mystery liquid. And it stank. Considering whose toy it was, it was probably some combination of tears, sweat, drool, snot, pee, and God knows what else.
Anyway, I managed to put stinky Spiderman into the car and wheeled him across the floor. The kid was delighted. He was so delighted that he pulled him out and had me put him back in again. And again.
If I haven’t gotten the point across yet, this thing was disgusting. And I was tempted to hide it where I wouldn’t have to deal with it again. But I couldn’t. This kid was having tons of fun, and I specifically came to be a blessing to him. So I plugged my nose and kept going. It wasn’t fun for me, but the kids loved it. And ultimately, although I’m sure they won’t remember me for long, I hope the image of a man who cares about them and wants to bless them stays with them for awhile. I’m far from the best role model, but God has a funny way of making things work, even with flawed tools.
So yes, I touched stinky Spiderman more times than I want to count. And God used something as silly as stinky Spiderman to bless some kids in a pretty sad situation. So I wouldn’t change anything.
But thank God for Germ-X.
