My 4-year-old son + PAINT = Why God Made StainMaster Carpet

So, I just spent the last hour on my knees with a ShopVac, a couple gallons of water, and a bottle of OxiClean.

Let me explain how I came to this illustrious place in my life.

My sweet 6-year-old daughter, Ms. A, wanted a craft project to work on this summer. So we headed down to the local JoAnn craft store and picked up a latch hook wall hanging kit. (You can tell you have a creative, crafty mom when her idea of a fun craft is a pre-packaged kit that was pre-packaged circa 1982).

Ah yes, nothing like a good craft project from 1982 to put a kid to sleep.

Anyhow, my 4-year-old, Mr. B, decided he also wanted a craft to work on, and being the train fanatic he is, he chose a kit with a bare-wood train and little paint pots.  Yeah, you can see where this is going.

Mr. B had his sweet, little, train-loving heart set on keeping the kit on the shelf in his room tonight. I explained to him why I didn’t think that was a good idea, and why he had to promise, cross his heart, and hope-to-Thomas-the-Tank-Engine-die that he wouldn’t open the kit during the night. PAINT MAKES A MESS! DON’T OPEN THE PAINT! WE HAVE TO SPREAD OUT PLASTIC BEFORE YOU PAINT THE TRAIN!              

Mr. B. could not resist the temptation.


After he was tucked into bed, light turned out, door shut, he hopped out of bed, turned on the light, and the little wooden train was painted in no time. So was the carpet. And the chair. And the ottoman. And the wall. And his pajamas. And his hands. And his legs.

Thrown-away train, never comin' back.

Noticing light coming from under his bedroom door, I went in. MR. B! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!! WE HAD A DEAL!!* So there I was, hauling the vacuum and cleaning supplies upstairs to see if I could undo the damage.

I had a lot of time to think as I scrubbed each little spot of green, black, and red paint. And it began to dawn on  me that sometimes I’m a lot like a 4-year-old. Impulsive. Short-sighted. Numskulled.

God must see me much the same way I see my paint-covered 4-year-old. “Did you really just do that? Didn’t I tell you not to do that? Now I’m gonna have to clean up this mess. You just don’t get it, do you?”

I think this is why we’re supposed to have faith, and a lot of the reason why we’re here on earth. Our finite, human minds just don’t get the big picture. Even when we think we’re brilliant and understand everything, we’re really just a bunch of know-nothing kids. We have to learn to listen to our Father and trust that He knows what He’s doing, and then have the faith to choose to do what He asks us to do.

Of course, He knows He put a bunch of 4-year-olds in a room with paint pots, so He sent His Son to “clean up,” as it were. Lucky for me, and all of us, that the Holy Trinity of a ShopVac, Water, and OxiClean can get the stains out.***

So when I finally finished cleaning and turned off the ShopVac, I looked over and noticed that Mr. B had fallen asleep. What an angel face! I love that kid more than he’ll ever understand.

ShopVac, paint smudge on wall, and sleeping angel.

And I’m really glad that Ms. A picked a craft that only involves yarn.

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*This is a reference to one of our favorite bedtime books, Too Many Toys. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.**

**Yes, this is a reference to one of my all-time favorite movies. I think I need to watch it tonight – I could use a good laugh.

***I recognize that this is a rough metaphor, and maybe too lighthearted for the deeply sacred topic of Jesus Christ’s atonement. But I think it makes the general point.