Laundry Lessons
Monday evening, I am finally setting down from a busy day of getting my family off to school, teaching high school, going to a t-ball game, getting my kiddos in bed, and laundry... Oh the never ending laundry. You know what I am talking about... those piles and piles of clothes with the pungent aroma, definitely a not so scentsy like fragrance wafting into the air. No matter how clean and organized my house is if it doesn't smell fresh I can't handle it.I turn in to a crazy person hunting down whatever is causing the funk; toys flying, crawling under beds, and furniture being moved until I find the stinky sock keeping my child's room from smelling... well less dirty sock like. I know, I know.... I am not totally naive to think that I will ever truly keep a fresh scent in my boys room but I'll give it my best effort!
Tonight as I tucked the kids in I grabbed the laundry basket and every stray dirty sock and underwear I could locate (yes I found them in the toy box, legos, and the book shelf... sometimes I think my kids must change clothes something like the little cartoon Tasmanian devil spinning so fast articles of clothing go flying in to every random location you can possibly imagine!) and headed to the laundry room. White, colored, towel, toy, white, colored, towel, toy... I began the sort and not to my surprise I not only came across grass stained pants, stinky socks, a random toy, but I also came across clothes that hadn't been worn recently. Yes ladies, my kids had thrown fresh "CLEAN" clothes right in there with the stinking nasty ones! With every clean article of clothing I came across my irritation grew, thinking to my self , how many times have I told them "do not put clean clothes in the with the dirty ones!"? Yet, here I am again rewashing "clean" laundry because now that its been snuggled up next to stinky socks and underwear that my kids have recently learned "wear 'em front. wear 'em back. go inside out. Then go front and back." (Thanks Big Hero 6!) its not so clean anymore. I begin wondering how many times have a washed "clean" dirty clothes? How much less time doing laundry if I could just get my family to only throw the legitimately dirty clothes in the laundry? I bet over my lifetime I will spend not just hours but days redoing laundry simply because instead of taking the time to put it away it got thrown into the dirty without a second thought. After all when it's a matter of getting your room clean before you can go outside to play catch you do what/s easiest and fastest. What 3, 5, 6, and 8 year old kids wouldn't?
Ok, ok, I know you are on the edge of your seat anxiously waiting for the point... well that's how I am going to imagine you anyway, makes me feel like what I writing may actually make sense to someone other than myself, ha. I mean what could be more exciting and thought provoking that a good discussion about dirty laundry right? Well ladies here it is:
Much like that "clean" laundry was no longer clean because out of rush, ease, and convenience my sweet children toss it in with the stinky items. How often do we as moms toss our dirty things like gossip, people pleasing, worry, and fear in to our hearts without much thought? Into our most sacred inner being that is supposed to be separated and "guarded with all diligence." In my last post I titled it "It All Starts with the Heart" which is true, but what good does it do to go through all the effort to purify our hearts before God through confession of sin, prayer, and a lot of precious precious grace from our forgiving Heavenly Father to only toss in the filthy "laundry" of our lives? Are we truly seeking a heart that will flow with graciousness, love, forgiveness, peace, all the things of a Godly woman if we are constantly trying to pretend our secret/not so secret sin doesn't stink as badly as it actually does? What is flowing from your heart? Impatience... am I allowing my selfishness to stink up the servant God called me to be? Contempt... am I stinking up my own undeserving forgiveness with arrogance? These are just a few of my own struggles friends. I could go on and on. Here is my thinking, how much time do I spend retracing my steps to cleanse my heart? To pin point and weed out the dirty laundry of my heart? Days, weeks, years, my entire life? How much more could I be available for God's purpose if I would quit dirtying up all His grace with my nasty stinky sin. But here is the good news...
This restoring is available to us at any time or place! God's grace is better than anything Tide can offer! No prewashing required. Just bath your heart in God's forgiveness and grace dear co-laundry washing mom. Don't live constantly struggling with the dirty "laundry" of sin. Be washed clean, white as snow, and allow that forgiveness to flow from your heart. Because as much I LOVE the fragrance and feel of fresh washed clothes, God loves the sweet fragrance of obedience to Him and will use it to bless others through you today! Pray for me to clean out the stinky "laundry" of my heart, I am also praying for you!
Have a Blessed Week.
Sarah (doing laundry till the end of time)
Tonight as I tucked the kids in I grabbed the laundry basket and every stray dirty sock and underwear I could locate (yes I found them in the toy box, legos, and the book shelf... sometimes I think my kids must change clothes something like the little cartoon Tasmanian devil spinning so fast articles of clothing go flying in to every random location you can possibly imagine!) and headed to the laundry room. White, colored, towel, toy, white, colored, towel, toy... I began the sort and not to my surprise I not only came across grass stained pants, stinky socks, a random toy, but I also came across clothes that hadn't been worn recently. Yes ladies, my kids had thrown fresh "CLEAN" clothes right in there with the stinking nasty ones! With every clean article of clothing I came across my irritation grew, thinking to my self , how many times have I told them "do not put clean clothes in the with the dirty ones!"? Yet, here I am again rewashing "clean" laundry because now that its been snuggled up next to stinky socks and underwear that my kids have recently learned "wear 'em front. wear 'em back. go inside out. Then go front and back." (Thanks Big Hero 6!) its not so clean anymore. I begin wondering how many times have a washed "clean" dirty clothes? How much less time doing laundry if I could just get my family to only throw the legitimately dirty clothes in the laundry? I bet over my lifetime I will spend not just hours but days redoing laundry simply because instead of taking the time to put it away it got thrown into the dirty without a second thought. After all when it's a matter of getting your room clean before you can go outside to play catch you do what/s easiest and fastest. What 3, 5, 6, and 8 year old kids wouldn't?
Ok, ok, I know you are on the edge of your seat anxiously waiting for the point... well that's how I am going to imagine you anyway, makes me feel like what I writing may actually make sense to someone other than myself, ha. I mean what could be more exciting and thought provoking that a good discussion about dirty laundry right? Well ladies here it is:
Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 ESV
A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. Galations 5:9 ESV
Much like that "clean" laundry was no longer clean because out of rush, ease, and convenience my sweet children toss it in with the stinky items. How often do we as moms toss our dirty things like gossip, people pleasing, worry, and fear in to our hearts without much thought? Into our most sacred inner being that is supposed to be separated and "guarded with all diligence." In my last post I titled it "It All Starts with the Heart" which is true, but what good does it do to go through all the effort to purify our hearts before God through confession of sin, prayer, and a lot of precious precious grace from our forgiving Heavenly Father to only toss in the filthy "laundry" of our lives? Are we truly seeking a heart that will flow with graciousness, love, forgiveness, peace, all the things of a Godly woman if we are constantly trying to pretend our secret/not so secret sin doesn't stink as badly as it actually does? What is flowing from your heart? Impatience... am I allowing my selfishness to stink up the servant God called me to be? Contempt... am I stinking up my own undeserving forgiveness with arrogance? These are just a few of my own struggles friends. I could go on and on. Here is my thinking, how much time do I spend retracing my steps to cleanse my heart? To pin point and weed out the dirty laundry of my heart? Days, weeks, years, my entire life? How much more could I be available for God's purpose if I would quit dirtying up all His grace with my nasty stinky sin. But here is the good news...
He restores my soul; Psalm 23:3a
"He restoreth my soul,.... Either when backslidden, and brings it back again when led or driven away, and heals its backslidings; or rather, when fainting, swooning, and ready to die away, he fetches it back again, relieves, refreshes, and comforts with the discoveries of his love, with the promises of his word, and with the consolations of his Spirit, and such like reviving cordials;" - Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible (my emphasis added)
This restoring is available to us at any time or place! God's grace is better than anything Tide can offer! No prewashing required. Just bath your heart in God's forgiveness and grace dear co-laundry washing mom. Don't live constantly struggling with the dirty "laundry" of sin. Be washed clean, white as snow, and allow that forgiveness to flow from your heart. Because as much I LOVE the fragrance and feel of fresh washed clothes, God loves the sweet fragrance of obedience to Him and will use it to bless others through you today! Pray for me to clean out the stinky "laundry" of my heart, I am also praying for you!
Have a Blessed Week.
Sarah (doing laundry till the end of time)
After doing four loads of laundry yesterday and finally got to an empty basket afternoon... by the end of the night the basket was full again. its never ending!!! Loving the blog and loving the 'point' ... waiting for your next class you teach at church as well my friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen for the constant support and encouragement!! You are a true gem in my circle of friends!!
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