A Mr. Bubble Story

I use biblegateway.com almost daily. Each day it gives me the Verse of the Day. Today’s caught me off guard, for lack of a better term. It also made me smile.

This is what I read:

“Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs, set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don’t look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways. Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise. Psalm 51:7-15 – MSG

How do these 9 verses speak to you?

I’ll be honest, the first thing I thought of, when I read “Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life” was “Mr. Bubble”

There are certain treasures that shine brighter than others in the eye of my childhood memories. One of them is Mr. Bubble Powder Bubble Bath. That pink cardboard box holds a special place in my heart. Do you too remember the innocent delight of a childhood bubble bath? Let’s take a whimsical trip down memory lane.

I was just a very small child, around the age of four or five, when Mr. Bubble made his delightful entrance into my world. (I may have been younger)

The mere sight of that iconic pink box would send ripples of joy through my young heart. The concept of turning an ordinary bath into a magical bubble wonderland was, for a child, nothing short of enchanting. And for a mother, it promised to “not leave a ring”.

I can still vividly recall the anticipation that built as my mom would prepare the bath. The pink box, adorned with the cheerful and grinning Mr. Bubble, always seemed to radiate happiness. With a childlike excitement, I'd watch as my mom sprinkled the powdered formula into the warm bathwater. As soon as those tiny granules met the water's surface, they would spring to life, transforming into a sea of frothy, fragrant bubbles with mom perhaps encouraging such with a quick thrash of her hand under the water’s surface.

With the tub now brimming with fluffy bubbles, I would carefully climb in, making sure not to splash too much and risk bursting the bubble kingdom that surrounded me. As I soaked and played in that foamy paradise, my imagination would take flight. And there was always a bubble-beard. Oh, how it tickled!

Of course, the bath had to end eventually, but Mr. Bubble's magic lingered long after the bubbles disappeared down the drain. Mom would wrap me in a cozy towel, my cheeks no doubt rosy; me smelling better and looking better than when I entered that billowy cloud of bubbles. Even now as I think back my heart becomes full of contentment. I was loved and I was well taken care of.

In the same way Jesus washes us clean from our dirt. No, He does not run a warm bath with cleansing bubbles and plastic toys, instead Jesus cleanses us with His very blood.

There is a song I love to sing titled This Blood. Some of the lyrics go like this:

There is a blood

That cost a life

That paid my way

Death its price

When it flowed

Down from the cross

My sins were gone

My sins forgot

I just say out loud, “Thank you Jesus! Thank you!”

Paul wrote, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Romans 5:6-9 ESV

Now, years have passed, and I've traded my bubble adventures for more grown-up pursuits. But when I think of that iconic pink box, it's impossible not to feel a rush of nostalgia. The memories of those carefree, bubble-filled bath times as a small child remain etched in my heart; along with many other memories from my childhood.

However, much more than that box, Jesus etched His name across my heart long ago.

He “…saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:5-7 NIV

Friend this ‘hope’ that is spoken of is not the kind of hope where one might hope to win the lottery. This hope is a blessed assurance kind of hope! This ‘Hope” you can hang onto until He comes again in the sky to take us to heaven.

Verse 8 concludes with “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” NIV

by Jeanette Stark – Friday, October 20, 2023