Keep Out of Reach

One of the blessings for any wife and mother while on vacation is having someone else do the brunt of the cleaning. With a hotel housekeeping staff you don’t have to make your bed, pick the towels off the floor (unless you’re trying to conserve water and save the planet), empty the trash, and a myriad of other cleaning duties. That, according to my wife, is one of the best parts of a vacation! Coming back from a busy day at the theme park to find the “cleaning fairies” have made your beds, emptied the trash, and given you a fresh set of towels is awesome.

However, one night didn’t turn out as we expected. After closing Disneyland down and walking ten thousand miles, all I wanted to do was get back to our room, take a shower, and get into bed. First of all, there were no towels. Where are my towels? I called the front desk and they asked me if I could pick it up in the lobby. No problem. I can walk a few more feet.

After an exhausting walk to the lobby (slight exaggeration), I decided that I was too tired to even shower. I’ll just do so in the morning.

The next day as my wife got in the shower, she showed me something I have never seen left in a hotel room before. I’m sure it’s used (at least in some hotels). A bottle of chemical cleaning solution was left in the tub!

With a three year old in the room, that was undoubtedly a hazard. The very first directions, in bold print, read, “Keep out of reach of children.” Mission not accomplished, Cleaning Fairy!

As a parent, I was upset. In trying to calm down about it, I decided to wait until we checked out to talk to the manager. After all, we were spending time in the happiest place on earth which obviously wasn’t the hotel at that moment.

As livid as I got about the incident, it made me think about how many times I may have put something hazardous within reach of my child. It may be a TV program, an argument between mom and dad, a sour disposition, a lack of love for Jesus, bad friends, poor disciplinary habits, etc. Think about it, these sinful and weighty matters can stand in the way of our children’s optimal spiritual health.

I think it’s time to do a home inspection to make sure that certain things are out of the reach of our children. We can’t afford to have an “accident.”

And one more thing, the writing on the bottle stated that “swallowing contents could be fatal.” Didn’t the Bible say that when sin is finished it brings forth _______? (James 1:15)