There is a dreaded room in every house that almost any woman I meet complains about. The Laundry Room. Mine currently has a giant pile of clean clothes that are patiently waiting to be folded and hung in their proper place. It’s a task I hate. Washing my clothes never seems to be that arduous, but putting them up seems to be a colossal undertaking. It is something that will breathe life into the procrastination gremlin that I keep satisfied with unread self-help books and an untouched podcast library list a mile long. Is i
t just me? I can put off “laundry day” for weeks! But once those clothes are hanging neatly in color-coded sections, all facing the right direction and displayed on pristinely matching hangers, I feel so much better!
Ok. Ok, my closet isn’t perfect like that. I only dream of getting my laundry in that kind of order. Don’t we all? And like many of us, some days I do a better job than others. Isn’t our laundry so much like our own lives? Sometimes it’s clean and pretty and smells great. Other times it’s the towel you’ve used to dry off a soaking wet, filthy golden retriever that has found his way into a rain-filled mud hole. Life is just that way.
Ecclesiastes 4:10 says, “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
Let us be women who help one another up. Let’s fold each other’s laundry, if you will. I have to remember that just because I don’t always have laundry piling up doesn’t mean I get to look at someone else’s laundry basket and judge. And neither do you. If someone is struggling, don’t sit back and cast judgement. Remember we all have moments in our lives where our dirty laundry is piled a mile high. Before we rush to judge, realize Jesus redeemed us all. To put it in metaphorical terms, He graciously did all of our laundry and got out all the stains. And we as Christians are called to walk alongside others and love them through their life messes.
My challenge for all of us is this:
Love the people in your life. Love the stranger in the line next to you at the grocery store. Be compassionate and have a heart for those hurting.
And just remember: When your whites are sparkling, go help someone else do some washing.
Andra Pape
CHM Contributor
