A Lousy Dilemma

What a Lousy Problem!

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A group of young mothers visit in the park while their children play nearby. Their conversation ranges from lack of  sleep, to the Little League coach who is a bit too competitive, to the latest epidemic of the sniffles at school. These women have much in common, and they learn a lot from each other. They can talk about anything - triumphs and trials alike - confident that their friends will understand. They can talk about anything...almost.

Sandy watches her six-year-old daughter, Lexi, playing on the swings nearby. She twists the chains of her swing until they are wound up tightly. Then she leans back and lifts her feet from the ground. Lexi squeals in delight as the swing unwinds and her long dark hair flies through the air.

Lexi's hair. Sandy groans silently at the apparently beautiful sight. Everyone always commented about Lexi's pretty hair. But no one knew what Sandy knew. Somehow or other, Lexi had gotten lice, and so far, Sandy had not been able to completely get rid of the pests. She had tried everything she could think of, but nothing worked.

If only she could talk about this problem with her friends as easily as they all talked about the other problems of life. But she couldn't talk about this. It was too humiliating. No, she couldn't talk about it. If only she could.

If only...indeed. What Sandy doesn't know is that her friend Lauren had dealt with exactly the same situation with Cindy just last year. Same thing for Becky and her daughter Sierra. Both of them were relieved to be done with the problem, but there is no way they would admit they had ever faced it to begin with. It was too embarrassing. Terry and Natasha had not encountered the dreaded louse yet, and sincerely hoped they never would.

The fact is, if Sandy took the chance to share this problem with her friends, even as they had shared many other life problems, she would have found help and support from other moms who had been there, done that. Lauren and Becky had answers they could have shared. Terry and Natasha, too, could have gained a bit of knowledge that might help them somewhere down the road. If only one of them had the courage to share.

A Serious Case of Spiritual "Lice"

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As creepy and disgusting as those lousy little critters are, there are far more serious kinds of "lice", far more serious secrets that people keep. There are certain problems, struggles, sins - call them what you will - that we think, for some reason, can never be shared with anyone. We struggle with them alone. In an effort to feel especially spiritual, we tell ourselves we want to deal with them with God, and no one else needs to ever know.

The trouble is, sometimes that strategy just doesn't work. It isn't that God is unable to help us. He is perfectly capable of setting us free from whatever is holding us captive all on His own. He doesn't have to work through other people, but He often chooses to work through others. That is what all the "one anothers" in the Bible are about. God wants us to work together, to support each other. 

Our enemy, Satan, is the one advocates avoidance.
He is the one who encourages hiding.
He is the one who wants to keep us silent, separated, and struggling.
He loves to see us living with a spiritual "lice" infestation.

God calls us to bear each other's burdens (Galatians 6:2).

He calls us to share the good things He has done for us.

He calls us to grow together.

He calls us to share with each other how to be free of spiritual "lice".

So What Do We Do About Spiritual "Lice"?

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I've been on both sides of a "lousy" situation. I know what it is to struggle in secret with something that I can't overcome on my own. I also know what it is to be set free from that same struggle when I finally brought it into the light, and allowed a handful of trusted sisters in Christ to know what was going on. They went with me to Jesus, and HE set me free.

Since then, I have shared what God did for me with others on several occasions. I have had the privilege of walking with a number of people as they took their first steps into the light of freedom in Jesus.

To those who are even now secretly struggling with a "lousy" situation, may I share something I learned from experience? That voice you "hear" in your head telling you that no one else would understand, that if anyone knew what was going on, everyone would reject you...that voice is a lie. It is true that you want to pick carefully who you share with, but once you reject the lie, God will show you who is safe.

To those who have already been set free from a past "lousy" situation, may I encourage you to be open to sharing your story as God leads? Not as a confession. No need for that as you have already been forgiven, freed, and restored. Share it as a testimony. Your story of how God worked in your life may be exactly what someone else needs to hear to give them hope, and encourage them to step into the light.

We don't need to live with spiritual "lice". Let's help each other get rid of any "infestation".