Dirty Laundry

There are certain chores around the house that I don't mind doing at all, and then there are some that I just simply do not enjoy even a little bit. Laundry is one of those that falls into a category all its own ... I absolutely, positively, completely and totally loathe doing laundry. And even though I now only have to do my own (which amounts to a couple of loads each week), I still do not like to do it. I think perhaps my strong aversion to laundry came about when I had three kiddos under the age of six, and it only increased as they grew into teenagers ... teenagers with stinky, smelly, sweaty laundry and mountains of it. 

As much as I don't like to do laundry, it is one of those "musts" in life. I have no choice but to wash and dry my clothes when they are dirty ... I can't go to work in dirty clothes; I can't go to church in dirty clothes; I can't even go to Walmart in dirty clothes. I have to have clean clothes ... no choice, no option, no way out of cleaning my clothes. I simply don't want the world to see me in dirty clothing; I want to be clean and presentable whenever I leave the confines of my home and go out into society.

Recently, I've been involved in some exercises that have caused me to examine the "laundry" of my life, and the concept of clean vs. dirty has given me pause to think deeply. Just as I don't want to venture out of my home in dirty clothing, I also don't want the dirty laundry of my heart or life put on display for others to see. And yet, I've come to realize over the last weeks that each one of us possesses laundry that isn't clean, laundry that we'd rather keep hidden away in the hamper ... laundry that we want no one to see or know about.

I've also come to understand that it's not up to anyone else to make the call as to how dirty, how offensive, how smelly my dirty laundry may be. The ultimate opinion of my dirt, my sin, my disobedience, my laundry, comes only from my heavenly Father. And I'm beyond grateful that when God looks at me now, now that I have placed my faith, my hope, my trust in His Son, He only sees me one way ... washed clean in the blood of Jesus Christ. Clean ... fragrant ... worthy ... forgiven ... pardoned ... protected. 

Yep, I'm beyond grateful.