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One of my chores as a young girl was to empty the slosh bucket. For my young readers who may not know a thing about slosh buckets… let me explain. A slosh bucket is a bucket that you use indoors as a toilet. Yep. My family did #1 and #2 in a white enamel bucket. Now don’t start thinking that I had a deprived childhood, caused I didn’t. We also had an outdoor toilet; a double-seater outhouse! Listening to the birds and other outside sounds of nature was one of the benefits I enjoyed as I sat in our outhouse. Occasionally my first cousin June Bug would come over to my house to play. Sometimes we would have a bubble gum blowing contest as we sat side by side doing our “business” in my family’s double-seater outhouse. Just so you know, June Bug usually won the bubble gum contest.

Enough with the outhouse and back to the slosh bucket. I can remember holding the slosh bucket by its handle and walking slowly and carefully from my house to the outhouse where I dumped the slosh from inside the bucket into a deep hole in the ground. And though it was a short walk… more times than not, by the time I reached the outhouse one of my legs would be splashed with spotty brown stains. Which leg? The leg next to the slosh bucket, of course. My slosh bucket carrying days ended when I was in the fourth grade. That was the year my family moved into our new house. Finally, I had my own bedroom. No more sharing a bedroom with three brothers. As great as it was to have my own private bedroom, it was even greater having two indoor bathrooms. Now I realize that for some people two bathrooms may not sound that grand. But for my family it was the grandest!

My mother was thrilled to have indoor bathrooms. With four small children to bathed and care for… you can imagine her delight. Mother was proud of our bathrooms and she made sure they were kept spic and span clean. Each week she would get down on her hands and knees and use an old toothbrush to scrub the grout between each small, individual tile on the bathroom floor. She also kept the family’s two prized toilet bowls slosh-free and clog-free by using an arsenal of cleansers, brushes, and plungers.

Fifty years have now passed and mother is unable to get down on her hands and knees to clean the grout between the ceramic tiles. However, she is still able to keep the toilet bowls slosh-free and clog-free. My mother’s motto is: “There are some things, you just don’t put up with!”

Now I’d like to ask you a personal question. Is there any slosh in your life? Are you clogged with fear slosh, addictions slosh, or other sloshy stuff? To those who might say, “Yes Debra, I have some slosh in my life but it’s just a tiny amount.” To you I would say, even a tiny amount of slosh can stink up your life. My mother’s advice to you is more to the point. Are you ready for it? Mother said to tell you, “There are some things, you just don’t put up with! Make up your mind that enough is enough and FLUSH the SLOSH!”

How do you flush the slosh? I am so glad you asked!

Regardless of your specific personal struggle, God can help you. God loves you and He has a purpose for your life. So please, share your struggles, slosh and all… with God. Tell God you need His help. Experience for yourself how God will work with you to flush the slosh from your life!