Pink plastic walls contain the relics of primitive etchings from some lost soul. Each stall displaying handiwork quickly drawn in the quiet and hidden solace of the girl’s bathroom. The verbiage is nothing to be repeated and tragically shouldn’t be something used by anyone and yet here it is. Bold scratchings of anger, trauma, frustration, sadness and written clandestinely away.
I am perplexed why people choose to write on the filthy wall of a bathroom stall. Is it that they all of the sudden are overcome with the need to express their inner most feelings and can’t wait for a more suitable setting; are they struck by some profound concept while using the restroom, do they think if they don’t write it down, right now, they might forget? I am quite sure none of these are reasons that people do this. I think people write on bathroom walls because they are tempted to do something they shouldn’t and they know that no one is watching.
In the secret we can be tempted to do things we wouldn’t normally do. People who write on the bathroom walls would more than likely never write on a wall in a less hidden place. We don’t typically see scratched out words on the counter in the bank, on a waiting room wall at the doctor’s office or even a table at McDonalds. A person might be tempted to do something in places like these, but doing wrong is more easily staved off when surrounded by people in the light and not in a “secret” place.
I myself have never written on a bathroom wall. I don’t think I have even been tempted to write on a wall, but I have let myself slip and fall into temptation and sin. When I reflect on those times, I realize that I allow myself to be isolated, and thus I am accountable to no one in particular (or so I think at the time). However, I know that Jesus is always with me, even when I am struggling or when I falter and fall. Jesus said he would never leave me or forsake me and that means that he is with me in the good times and those times in which I struggle. He is with me when I am in my “bathroom” and “writing on my walls.” I wonder if He is perplexed by my random and unsavory behavior.
John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” When I succumb to temptation, I am helping to turn out the light and embolden the dark. When alone and hurting, it is easier to fall into sin. Harboring hurt, bitterness, anger, sadness we find ourselves in a place where sin feels easier than doing the right thing. Hiding from friends and family and turning to one’s self creates an environment that encourages self degradation. Self worth diminishes and heart ache becomes the norm. This loneliness creates the perfect breeding ground for self abusive practices, harming oneself and becoming a person we don't want to be.
Remember in those times that you are not alone. He will never leave you or forsake you! He already paid the price for our sin and wants nothing more than for us choose to do good and not fall into the trap of sin. He wants us to be his disciple, to “deny ourselves and take up our cross daily and follow Him. Luke 9:23
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”1John 1:7 If you have hidden sin in your life that you can’t seem to break free from take it to Jesus and then take it to someone that you can trust. Once you bring it to the light you will be able to overcome it and walk in wholeness. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 If you do not feel that you have someone in your life that can listen and pray with you in this sin area please contact us at preciousdaughters@gmail.com and we will find someone who can help you find freedom in Jesus.