Happy dance! It’s Laundry Day.
I know because I have one pair of underwear left in the top drawer of my dresser and the basket will not hold any more clothes no matter how many times I push them down and cram them together.
So, sigh, I begin to sort. I sort by color and by fabric weight- heavy cottons like sweats, jeans and towels, perm. press, lighter weight delicacies, bleachable whites, etc. Each has to be washed a special way with a certain temperature of water, agitating speed and spin. Then each has to be dried per the instructions on the label. Oh, sure you could dump them all in together but then colors may bleed and some won’t get thoroughly clean. If tossed together in the dryer, some may get too hot and others come out damp. Some may shrink and no longer fit.
Can you see the analogy yet? When it comes to my faults, sins and imperfections, I want God to zap them all at once. Let’s get this over with, I have things to do. Clean me up, dry me off and send me out. I want to be a super Christian, always walking with You and filled with Your Spirit.
But God knows that is not for the best. He sorts out the things in my life He wishes to revamp into a more excellent way. He knows how to handle each fabric of my being. He has it figured out and knows how long it will take to wash each category clean and get it ready for the task ahead. Some stains in my personality may need a very long soak and extra care. Some areas of my heart should be on the delicate cycle. Some need more vigorous agitation to break loose the grime.
Here is the light bulb moment. Cleaning is only half the job. Everything has to be dried, maybe pressed, in order to be presentable. Some clothes need to drip dry. Others can take the heat. Some need the wrinkles ironed out. Is that not true with the areas of our lives God chooses to work on? He washes away our sin, doubt, grime and negative thoughts. But that is only the beginning. Before we can wear this new aspect of our lives into the world as witness of His mercy and grace, we must go through more. We must be transformed back into the original, fresh-from-the-store state.
So our All-knowing LORD hangs our issues up to dry, or applies the swirling heat in our lives, not out of cruelty, but out of care and love. That requires time, patience and the knowledge of what each area of our lives needs.
Praise God- may every day be Laundry Day!! May I no longer cram things down, assuming I will bring them to Him later to clean and prepare. LORD, let me not wait until I have only one little thing left to cling to before I bring the situation to you. Teach me to be joyful in the knowledge that You are taking Your time and handling each load as it should be handled. Thank You that, through Your blood, You wash us white as snow and through Your Holy Spirit, you prepare us for what is next by giving us the spiritual clothes we need. Amen.
Where Did You Find God Today? 