A woman's work is never done. That's what I thought this morning as I sat down and made my to-do list and shopping list for the day. There is always that never-ending cycle of dishes and laundry. Something's always dirty and needing to be washed. Some are clean and just need to be put in their proper place. And it's in the middle of this busyness, God speaks to me and tells me how much folding laundry and washing dishes is so much like my spiritual life.
To me, there is nothing so satisfying as the bottom of the clothes hamper. It's empty! Laundry is done....well, more like caught up...at least for the moment. This is a daily thing. There are things we wear daily that need to be washed often. This is needful and expected. Yes, it can get overwhelming at times. But I've often found that those overwhelming times come when I've not stayed on top of the pile. I've skipped a day or took time to "relax" instead of doing what needed to be done. Oh me.
My weakness, the thing that NEVER seems to be DONE - cleaning the kitchen. I hand-wash some dishes, and some go in the dishwasher. (wow, I just realized there's a whole other message in that.) It hurts me to wash dishes. Just standing there, repetitive motions, gives me a backache. (guess that's what I should use the dishwasher for.) When I start washing, it seems like it will be forever before I'm done. But when I get down to that last pot or skillet, wouldn't you know it - it won't come clean. It needs to soak a while. So I leave it sitting, thinking I'll go sit down and rest a few minutes before I try to tackle it again. Next thing I know, the 10:00 news is on and I've still got a load of laundry to fold and that pot is still soaking...only now it's sitting in nasty, cold, greasy water...and I'm just too tired to deal with it right now. So I leave it, only to pile up the daily breakfast and lunch dishes on top of it the next day, and come supper time...there sits the pot I need to use, dirty. So I wash it, cook, and start the process all over again.
I'm not yet sure why God showed me this. I guess it just seems there is always that one thing (whatever it is) that always stands in the way of my clean kitchen. That dirty pot stands between me and my peace.
