PRACTICE: What household chore do you hate?
My history of washing clothes is an interesting one. Growing up on a working farm meant we had a washday. I don’t remember which day of the week it was (wasn’t Sunday). My job on wash day was to hang the washed clothes on a line to dry. In college, laundry day was any day when I was dangerously close to running out of clean underwear. When I was first married, my husband and I delayed washing laundry for as long as possible because we hated going to the laundromat. The memory of our green hatchback car filled with soiled clothing, towels and bedding and a bag of quarters still causes me a bit of angst. When we moved into a house with a washer and dryer, a bit of heaven came into our home. Yet, laundry is still a dreaded chore.
Rationally I know there is nothing hard about doing laundry! But I dread the steps involved -sorting, (whites from colors, delicate from non-delicate), cold water or hot water---decisions, decisions! Then getting them to the dryer or hang dry. AND THEN, they must be folded, hung up or ironed and put away. And because we are at home all day every day and cooking multiple times a day (pandemic), dirty dish towels have multiplied, more laundry.
How absolutely small of me when I consider the alternative.
Hanging laundry outside to dry is a thing of the past! The laundromat is a thing in my past! It is a privilege to have access to facilities dedicated to washing clothes, to water, to machines to do the washing and to detergent to facilitate the cleaning. I am blessed with more than my share of items to wash. Taking care of my blessing ought to be looked at as a privilege. I could have little or nothing.
I get to be caretaker of a washer and dryer. I get to wash the workout clothes that clothe my body during my daily exercise routine. I get to sort clothes. I get to have the use of hands to fold, hang or iron garments. When I pause, breathe, and recenter my thoughts on the blessing of what I get to do, my chore is transformed into a privilege.
If this idea doesn’t work for you around the chore that you hate, think of the alternative.
1 Cor.10:31
PONDER THIS THOUGHT---Chores are a blessing and a privilege.
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