Thursday, August 7, 2014

LAUNDRY-PALOOZA

I'm an optimist. I wake up every day believing in a place called “All the Laundry is Done” and I truly believe I can get there. Every. Single. Day.

My morning countdown to get a load into the washer is the 4 1/2 minutes it takes for the water for my Earl Grey to get hot. The air is filled with hope, promise, and April freshness; TODAY is THE DAY!

Piles of clothes litter the laundry room floor and spill in the hallway, loosely clustered by color, with the grays, blues, and greens varying their allegiance between the darks and the mediums. Only the pinks and reds get their own dedicated load. It's so beautifully organized as I conduct the laundry symphony. All this mess will miraculously transform into neat piles of folded wearables and I am the conductor who will wave my baton and make it so!

And then, somewhere it happens. I get distracted / frustrated / tired. My wash-day plot starts to unravel faster than that sweater in my "Special Attention" basket (which is right next to a bin I call the “Home for Wayward Socks.”)

Why isn’t there a buzzer on the washer? And why is the one on the dryer so obnoxious? Why can’t it be a delightful chime? Or the saxophone riff from “Careless Whispers?” Must it sound like the “all clear” air horn burst from a radioactive decontamination chamber?

There’s too many pants to hang and not enough kid-size hangers with clippy things on them. The pre-treated and re-treated stain isn’t budging, and OH MY GOODNESS HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO MATE ALL THESE SOCKS??

My enthusiasm evaporates. I don’t need to fold ALL these towels… just grab two so the kids can take a bath. In fact, just get one towel, they're small – they can take turns and share one. 

I quit. Actually it’s more like a surrender in defeat. I just don’t wave a white flag, because I’d have to wash that too.

Out of 7 loads, I've completed 2 1/2, and out of that I've put away about 1 3/4 loads. But I don't let it rattle me, I see the victory in the defeat - I've accomplished SOMETHING! I've made a dent in the laundry: the hampers are now just merely full instead of overflowing. 

I still believe in a place called “All the Laundry is Done.” And I still believe I’ll get there. Tomorrow.

God is in control – he directs, preserves, and maintains his created order. By spending time observing the majestic and intricate parts of God’s creation, we can be reminded of his power in every asepect of our lives. {Go read Job 37}

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