Psalm 130:4
"But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you."

I love garbage day, don’t you? There is something wonderful about emptying every wastebasket in my home, bagging it up, taking it outside to the trash can and having a big green truck come and haul it all away. On the flip side, my family knows that I hate to miss garbage day. There are those Wednesdays when I completely (and apparently everyone else does, too!) forget about the garbage. I’m hurrying out to the car to get my son to school and myself to work, only to see the neighbors’ garbage cans lining the other driveways on our block. Argh!!!  Now my smelly garbage will be a constant reminder of my forgetfulness for the next week.
Garbage day reminds me of some other trash, as well. It’s all that stinking, rotten sin in my heart. Oh, to be purged of that. To simply bag it up and have someone carry it away. And yet, if I’m honest with myself, I have to admit that at times I want to hold onto it.  I don’t want to confess the times I’ve put my needs and wants ahead of someone else, because I work really hard and rarely get any “me time”. I don’t really want to forgive my child who said, “I’ll do it”, and then didn’t. I’d rather mention it to him a few times so he really knows how disappointed I am in him. I want to share with my friend how someone was so mean to me because it’s just “venting” and that OK, right? It’s almost as if I’m choosing to not empty every wastebasket in my house. I’ll leave a few overflowing with messy trash. We wouldn’t do that, right? So why are we reluctant to fully confess our sins, to really acknowledge ALL the dirt lurking in our hearts?
Jesus is standing ready to drive that sin away. In fact, He already has! “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps 103:12)  When we confess our sins, we fully realize the gift of His complete forgiveness. When we stubbornly hold onto our sin and we do not confess that we are truly poor, miserable, condemned creatures; we give Satan a foothold to keep reminding us of those sins. They’re gone! On the garbage truck! Driven away as far as the east is from the west. Paid for on the cross.
As a conversation starter at dinner, I’ll often ask my children, “What was the best part of your day?” Yesterday I shared with my son about a devotion I had and how it really focused on confession followed by the wonderful news that I’m forgiven. He replied, “I guess that was the best part of your day, right Mom? That’s got to be the best part of every day. Knowing we’re forgiven.” Rejoice in that assurance today. You ARE a redeemed, forgiven child of God.