The Pile of Laundry

Ever look at the pile of laundry waiting for you to be washed and folded, and you say an inner prayer, Jesus help me? I do….

As I enter the laundry room and look around at the mountains of clothes that are just waiting to be washed, folded, and put away. I ask myself, “How did I get here?” Where did all this clothes come from? Isn’t there only 4 people in this house?  As I start to sort the clothes from dark’s to whites, from towels to socks, I start to moan and groan.  The more I focused on the amounts of clothes the more overwhelmed I got. It was as if there was a never ending portal that was dumping clothes in the laundry room that I was unaware of. Like really? Where did all this clothes come from? Don’t get me wrong I actually enjoy washing clothes and folding them and smelling the awesome smell of Gain but the amounts of clothes just overwhelmed and zap the energy out of me like some type of Kryptonite.

Four loads later, 5 laundry baskets filled and 1 day later, I’m still complaining and groaning. While putting the clothes away in their proper drawers and rooms I begin to listen to worship music and rather than to allow the complaining thoughts over take me, the Holy Spirit starts to nudge me. I can sense Him speak to my heart and say, If you took your eyes off of the pile of all the laundry and focus on the worship music your mood will shift.

I take his advice and as I focus on the music and just worship God the pile of clothes that was causing me to be frustrated and irritated soon begins to fade. In that moment God begins to show me a small valuable but important lesson.

There will be moments in life where trials will look like that huge mountain of clothes. You will feel overwhelmed, stressed, frustrated, and every negative emotions will flood and overtake you. But, the moment you take your eyes off the pile of laundry and focus on just enjoying the music and make it fun, all those negative emotions lift and disappear. When the storms of life come to overwhelm us, we must always keep in mind that if we keep our eyes fixed on the storm we lose sight of the one who can calm the storm. Jesus….

As a mom and wife, dealing with all the household chores, we can easily get caught up in all the chaos going on inside our homes.  When we look at the piles of laundry on the floor, the pile of dishes in the sink, the piles of mail on the table you can’t help but to feel overwhelmed . If your like me, organization brings you peace.  I realized in the midst of spending hours washing, folding, and repeating the process multiple times, that Jesus was my peace, and that surrendering my anxiety of seeing piles of chaos everywhere to Jesus helped me have peace. Even in the simplest example like a pile of laundry, taught me that Jesus may not always remove the storms that come to overwhelm us but that He will give us peace in the midst of the storms. In those moments we can learn to dance, sing, and worship in the rain, rather than to stand there complaining and just getting wet. When mommy and wife duties try to overwhelm you, say, “Jesus, only you are my peace so let’s clean this house together and get our dance and worship on.

Grace, mercy, and peace (inner calm, a sense of spiritual well-being) will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. 2 JOHN 1:3 (AMP)