Pickle Juice, New Shoes… and a Fresh Start
Let me tell you a quick story from this past week… 😅
So I recently got a couple new pairs of walking shoes.
I have a goal this year to walk another 1000 miles and when you’re putting in miles like I am, shoes don’t last forever. So I grabbed a gray pair and a red pair, and I’ve been rotating them to keep them fresh.
Well…
Yesterday morning, I’m filling up my wife's gallon water bottle, reaching into a very full fridge (thanks, Easter leftovers 🙌), and I accidentally knocked over a jar of pickles.
Not just any pickles.
Grillo’s pickles.
If you know, you know.
So good, but SO powerful!
That jar hit the ground… and exploded.
Pickle juice everywhere.
Floor? Covered.
Fridge? Splashed.
My brand new red shoes?
Absolutely drenched.
I picked them up, smelled them, and thought:
“Yeah… these are done.”
And let’s be honest - shoes get funky enough on their own.
Adding pickle juice?
That’s next level. 😄
But, we threw them in the wash.
Added a little help from some Downy Unstopables (life-changing, by the way).
And this morning?
You couldn’t even tell.
No smell.
No stain.
No evidence of the disaster.
Like it never even happened.
As I was out walking, I started noticing something else.
There were spots along the path - on fences, on the pavement - where something had clearly been there before.
Spray paint. Marks. Mess.
But now?
Gone.
Covered. Cleaned. Restored.
You wouldn’t even know what used to be there.
Yeah… this turned into a bit of a “pickle juice parable.” 😄
Because isn’t that exactly how it works with us?
We have moments. Mistakes. Messes.
Things we think:
“Yeah… this might have ruined me.”
But through Christ?
Things can change.
Completely.
That’s why John 3:16 hits so deeply:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
This isn’t just a nice verse.
It’s a promise.
That because of His love…
- Messes can be cleaned
- Mistakes can be redeemed
- Lives can be restored
Not covered up temporarily.
Made new.
That’s also why we love our “God’s Love” (John 3:16) socks.
They’re a reminder that no matter what life throws at you…
No matter what you’ve stepped in (or spilled 😅)…
You are not beyond repair.
You are not too far gone.
You are loved.
If your life feels a little messy right now…
If something feels “ruined”…
Take heart.
God is really, really good at restoration.
Better than any washing machine.
Better than any cleanup job.
He doesn’t just make things better.
He makes them new.
What’s something in your life that you might need to let God restore?
Have a blessed day!
(And seriously… go get the pickle juice out of your shoes. You know what I mean. 😄)
