Laundry...it's the bane of my existence. With 4 children and 2 adults living in my house, there is a never-ending, constantly growing pile of dirty laundry at all times. Somewhere along the way, I heard someone use the word "Mt. Washmore" to describe their mountain of laundry. I have to agree. Sometimes sorting through to gather a load of laundry to wash feels like climbing a mountain.
But, really, I don't mind gathering, sorting, and washing the laundry. I don't really mind folding and hanging the laundry (although I have passed most of that job off to my kids). The problem with laundry comes when it's time to put it away.
In our house, the laundry gets folded or put on hangers and stacked in piles according to who it belongs to. Then, the owner of the laundry is to take it to their room and put it away. Pretty simple concept, right? Except that several of the people involved in this putting away process are children.
Children, at least in my house, don't seem to see the value of hanging laundry in the closet or closing it up in drawers the same way I do. Instead, the laundry ends up sitting on a bed or a dresser (or the floor) waiting until the day it will be worn again. In and of itself, this wouldn't be a problem. Except that several of the people involved are children.
Children, at least in my house, don't always have neat and tidy rooms. Okay, let's face it, their rooms are usually just short of being declared natural disasters. So inevitably the clean laundry that was sitting waiting for it's next wearing, ends up with other things piled on top of it or pushed to the side to make room for something else. Until...the time comes for the weekly (hopefully) cleaning of the bedrooms.
Children, at least in my house, when they're cleaning their rooms. instead of taking the time to put things away neatly where they belong, tend to be stuffers. They try to stuff everything into any hidden space they can find as fast as they can so they can say they are finished with their rooms. And the most convenient place to hide all of that laundry that never got put away is...back in the dirty laundry!
Nothing makes me crazy like going in to gather a load of laundry to wash and finding a still-folded pair of my kids' pants. Or worse, a shirt still on a hanger!!!
I already cleaned it. It is NOT dirty!
A few days ago, during a study time in the book of Acts, I came across a verse I never really paid attention to before. Acts 10:15 says,
"The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."
Wow! God spoke to my heart through that verse.
So many times, I do the same thing. Only, it's not clean laundry that I throw back into the dirty laundry pile, it's my heart.
Often, I speak words about myself that don't line up with what God says I am. I
say I'm not good enough. I say I messed things up. I say I am left out.
I say I'm not who I need to be. I say I am worthless. I say I am
unlovable. I say I can never be used to do anything for God.
But that's not what God says.
Jesus Christ came to earth, died on the cross, and rose again to give me a clean heart. The Bible says that when I accepted Christ as my Savior, my sins were washed "as white as snow". God says I am His masterpiece. God says I am beloved. God says I am redeemed. God says I am able. God says I am a victor. God says I am a conqueror. God says I am accepted. God says I am loved. God says I have a purpose.
God says I am clean!
So, instead of speaking those words over my life that say I am not, I am choosing to speak the words over my life that God says I AM.
I AM A CHILD OF THE KING!
ABLE!
ACCEPTED!
LOVED!
BEAUTIFUL!
WORTHY!
IMPORTANT!
VALUED!
REDEEMED!
CLEAN!
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