Laundry, Laundry, and more Laundry

You know, I have been thinking a lot about laundry these days. It seems like no matter how much laundry that you do, there is still more that needs done. (I suspect that they multiply at night in the hamper while everyone in the house is sleeping.) Plus, think about how much work is involved in the laundry process. First, you have to actually get your kids (and your husband) to get their laundry in the laundry basket. If you

are lucky, they may even put it in the right piles.

After you get everything sorted, then comes the washing process. It is not so bad if you are in the states with the mega large washing machine. Over here in Germany, we have really small washers that take forever, so it can take a while

to get the laundry done. Then you have to dry your laundry, and try not to forget that it is in there so you can catch it before everything wrinkles. The idea is to be on top of things and hang up stuff and fold it after each load. I say idea, because that never happens in my house. Most of the time we take out one load, put it in a pile and put the next load in the dryer. It seems like it takes us a while to get back to the folding process. Sometimes by the time to we get to it, the pile is a giant mountain that looks like it will topple at any moment.

Most of the time the laundry is lucky if it ever sees the inside of a drawer. My boys think a laundry basket is their dresser. I wish I was more on top of things, but I guess I don't really make it a priority.

I saw a quote about laundry: "Behind every successful

woman is a basket of dirty laundry" -Sally Forth. I got thinking about how you could be successful and still have dirty laundry. I remembered a verse from the Bible about how women are supposed to be busy at home. "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (Titus 2:3-5 ) If we are busy at home, that is what God wants. Plus, we will have less time to be getting into trouble.

I was also thinking what a blessing it is to see my children's dirty clothes, because it reminds me how God has blessed me with children to raise to follow him. Plus, it is a joy to see my husband's dirty clothes in the laundry. I remember the days when he was deployed and the laundry seemed to be such a reminder that he was not here with us. I guess when I am feeling overwhelmed and discouraged at the piles of laundry, I will just remember that they are a visual reminder from the Lord of how much he has blessed me.