Peace In The Laundry Pile

It’s laundry day, but what else is new? We must do laundry every day of the week, often putting the last load of the day into the dryer before collapsing into bed. I would be thrilled to say that my husband never has to lift a finger to do his own laundry because I am just that attentive to his needs but I’m not. I would also like to say that our toddler always has enough clean clothes for the week but she doesn’t. I would really like to say that I’ve been successful in training our 11-year-old to do her own laundry but I haven’t.

I have equality issues that have yet to be resolved in this area. First of all, our 11-year-old thinks it’s a social necessity to change her clothes every time she walks into a different room: one outfit for the kitchen, another for the living room, and so on. So what I typically see in her laundry pile are clean but wrinkled clothes that have been worn about as long as a prima donna costume. I’ve allowed myself a bit more grace when it comes to our toddler, though. She prefers her own skin to anything else and it helps keep ketchup, fruit juice, and chocolate from staining her clothes. She is well trained in taking her shirt off when we eat, now, though we are aware that this habit will have to change before her first dinner out with youth group friends. Bill’s laundry status is a different matter. He works an office job so he needs to have clean dress slacks and shirts for this. He also works out at the gym before coming home so he dumps sweaty t-shirts, shorts, and towels into our laundry pile. Then he changes into clean shorts and t-shirts for our evenings at home. If we have worship practice or church services to attend then he pulls on casual clothes. Comparing all of this to my singular change of clothes per day I hope you can at least sympathize with my dilemma.

Now that I’ve aired all my dirty laundry I feel a little better in having told somebody about it. But I wonder if I’ve left anyone feeling similarly frustrated with their own laundry issues. I have let you into my world of dirty socks and shirts but I haven’t offered any hope for anyone struggling with their own piles of clothes waiting to be washed, dried, and put neatly away. I have vented my thoughts but I have not opened my door to wisdom or counsel. And the truth is I should be praying over my grubby clothes and linens. It might sound silly to some but I need God for every detail in my life, even my dirty laundry.

“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6, 7

Glory