I remember being an earnest young mom trying so hard to do everything right and be sure our little darlings were safe.
One dear older lady watched me washing off my toddler and every surface around her. If our little girl dropped a toy I'd snatch it up and wash it 
before giving it back to her.
This sweet older friend said, "Aw Honey, don't worry about a little dirt. We all eat a bushel of dirt before we die, anyhow."
I stared at her in shock, wondering if she was kidding.
She wasn't.
Because I was young and insecure–and informed!–I assumed she simply didn't know better, so I paid no attention. The washing and wiping continued.
The "experts" are agreeing with her
After years of advising us to use not only soap and water, but sanitizers and wipes so we can be super-clean, now they're saying, "Well, maybe not."
The new thinking is that all that washing and sanitizing is part of the reason we have super-germs.
Put another way, ever-present "normal" germs got wiped away. Bacteria that survived mutated and got stronger.
What we have now are "super bugs," resistant to the usual antibiotics, placing both children and adults at greater risk.
"Don't get dirty!" may not be such good advice
Anxious moms don't like little ones to play in the dirt because, well, who knows what's in it?
Here's what WebMD says about kids and dirt:
"The 'hygiene hypotheses' holds that when exposure to parasites, bacteria, and viruses is limited early in life, children face a greater chance of having allergies, asthma, and other autoimmune diseases during adulthood.
". . . Just as a baby's brain needs stimulation, input, and interaction to develop normally, the young immune system is strengthened by exposure to everyday germs so that it can learn, adapt, and regulate itself, notes Thom McDade, PhD, associate professor and director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research at Northwestern University."
In a recent study they found that children who were around animals and who had more cases of diarrhea before they were two years old had less incidence of inflammation in their bodies as they grew into adulthood.
That's important because now they know inflammation links to many chronic adult illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's.
McDade goes on to say, "Microbial exposures early in life may be important . . . to keep inflammation in check in adulthood."
Out of love and good intentions we've been trying to raise our kids in germ-free environments. Who would have guessed we may be depriving them of the opportunity to build a strong immune system for life?
Much like my long-ago older friend, Professor McDade advocates common sense: "You don't have to wash or sanitize everything."
Here's my simple conclusion
God created the earth and everything in it. Obviously, that includes the dirt under our feet.
God makes us one-of-a-kind and gifts human beings with the ability to think, giving some an affinity for science and medicine.
Nothing surprises our loving God, because the Bible tells us He is all-knowing. Period. He knows everything that is to come and exactly what mankind will need to handle it.
That means you and I can say with the writer of Psalm 121:7:
The LORD will keep you from all harm– he will watch over your life;
So relax, dear friend. God's got it all covered.
(Besides, we'll eat a bushel of dirt before we die.)
Lovingly,
Lenore
