The Desitin Covering

Do you know just how extra-strength Desitin is?!  Does anyone even know what the actual ingredients are in that stuff?  I’m pretty sure it’s part Vaseline and part cement.  And I would know.  Because my daughter covered herself in it once upon a time.

When McKenna was a baby, her dad and I worked opposite schedules so that she would only be in daycare for about 3 hours a day.  Because I worked the evening shift, I would often come home late at night wired from a day of work and relax on the couch with a good book or pop on a tv show to rest my brain.  This often resulted in short “rests” during the morning hours.

One morning, I decided I needed a mommy nap and drifted off to sleep for about an hour and woke up to McKenna babbling to me softly as she sat in front of the couch. As I focused my eyes, I realized that my sweet daughter’s rosy cheeks were gone.  In her place, sat Casper the Friendly Ghost!

As I slept, my mischievous daughter had taken a tube of Desitin and completely emptied it all over her body.  Her arms, chest, legs, toes, face, and yes, even her hair were slathered in that super strength butt paste.  It took a couple of washes to get it off of her body, and we were STILL shampooing Desitin from her scalp almost a week later.  It was a mess!

As I was recounting this story to a friend recently, I thought about that thick coat of protection she had put all over her skin.  Why don’t I cover myself like that with Jesus?

Every day, we are hit with attacks from the enemy.  Our worldly desires get in the way, and selfish ambition trumps the desire to serve others.  I’m challenged daily with whether I’m good enough—as a mom, as a leader, as a friend.  Doubts creep into my head, and I allow them to linger far longer than they should.  And on days like today, where I’m feeling especially vulnerable, I realize it’s because I haven’t covered myself like my daughter covered herself with that ointment 19 years ago.

I am thankfully covered by the blood of Jesus and I have salvation because of it, praise God!  But I should also be covering myself with prayer—conversations between myself and the Holy Spirit.  Those prayers should be pouring from my mouth for me, my family, my neighbors, my country.

I should be covering myself with scripture, staining my heart with the blessed Word of the Holy Bible.  Those scriptures are a help to me in my time of need and doubt. They are a line of defense for a friend who’s having a hard day.

I should be covering myself with praise!  God gave us the grass we stand on, the giggle of a baby, the melody of a bird, and the breath that we breathe.  Speaking praises to Jesus for those things or singing worship music proclaiming His glory should be frequently flowing from my lips.

How do you cover yourself to stay protected from the enemy?  Is there a song, a verse, or prayer that is a go-to for you?  Share in the comments below.

~Erin