Laundry. It is one of those things. I do it every single day,
several times each day. It is definitely a love-hate relationship with me and
laundry. And yet, that is where I am starting today. Actually, it was a couple
of days ago. I was back in my boys’ room sorting socks and putting away
laundry. It was a quiet evening and I was remaking beds and being a mom and I
was also praying. I was just really chatting with my Jesus. I was praying for
my boys which led to praying for other folks too. I was praying for a few of my
tribe that are going through tough things. Things that make us feel heavy and
sad and make your eyes tear up. As I was praying I was specifically asking for
God’s hand to work but even more. I was asking for the purpose to be clear and
the strengthening and molding to happen accordingly. I was praying that months, years, decades later, God’s hand would still be visible, and thanks would be offered for His work in
the hard moments. As I prayed, I was just overwhelmed with how I have been able
to witness that in my own life and in so many others. My laundry prayers were not necessarily all for bad, heavy, hard
things, like biopsies and illnesses and unknowns, but they also included open
doors, new opportunities, distant hopes in the hearts of people that I know and
love. All of the requests still had questions unanswered and so they were scary because of those unknowns. Several things struck me in my prayer time, my boys have too many socks, just joking (kind of). I realized no one’s story is without detours and unknown
roads, everything can be used for the good if we allow the Master to work the
clay, and we really can give thanks in all things. As we celebrate 15 years of marriage
this month, I can say that Ryan and I have certainly known the moments that we
never dreamed would happen. We have seen those things bless us and, sometimes, scare us beyond ourselves and we have been and, continue to be, grateful for them every day.
When I was caring for
my first precious little 4 month old baby boy, I never dreamed or imagined that
I was also carrying my next precious little baby boy and yet a cheap pregnancy
test told me the truth. It was not on the spreadsheet of our life but we
quickly realized that we needed to add it in there! A blessing, yes, but also
something that rocked our world at that time and took lots of prayer and
patience and grace to get used to and, even, be thankful for. I remember saying
to God, “but, this isn’t how I thought it would be”. This is a happy detour but, of course, not all of the unexpecteds have been as joyous. We also spend
everyday adjusting our life and our expectations around our special needs son,
every meal, every experience, every. single. thing. It doesn’t always feel like a
reason for praise in the hard moments of homework and stimming and just
surviving, and yet, I know that I need to be thankful. Ryan takes meds that are ugly and battles a disease that we never knew existed until it flipped our world. My career has had to be adjusted to fit our reality and to meet the needs and demands of it. Life happens and we choose how we respond and adapt it every moment of every day.
This is true for every one of us. We have all experienced
unimagined blessings and unexpected hardships. None of us are spared and we shouldn’t
even desire that. I have friends who have lost loved ones, survived broken relationships, dealt with health issues too young and too hard, had to move away from loved ones. The list is unending. This week one of my devotional readings said this, “Thankfulness
takes the sting out of adversity. That is why I have instructed you to give
thanks for everything. You give me thanks (regardless of your feelings), and I
give you joy (regardless of your circumstances)” It went on to explain our
being thankful opens us up to God’s handwork in all of life. When we shine his
LIGHT on our circumstances, the happy and the harsh, it is really like turning
a flashlight on in a dark room. The entire perspective changes and the scariest
things don’t look so bad anymore and the brightest things reflect His goodness.
The scripture for that day’s reading is one that I know and
love and try to live every day. It is from Isaiah 55:6-12:
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he
will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, “declares
the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without
watering the earth and making it bud and
flourish, so that it yields seed for the
sower and bread for the eater, so is my
word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me
empty, but
will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I
sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.”
I love and
believe that the Lord’s thoughts and ways are higher than mine. I trust that
and find peace in it, but that ending. Don’t miss it! It is where I am right
now and where my laundry prayers led me. God’s words, His work, does not
return empty. We can go out, wherever He leads, with JOY and PEACE. His
purposes will be accomplished. His watering will produce fruit and that should
cause us all to burst (love that word) into song, trees clapping our hands!
That is praise! That is rejoicing! That is God’s work and it is always worthy!
As I folded the
last of my boys’ clothes that night, I admit that the tears were flowing but
they weren’t sad tears. They were tears of joy. In 15 years, Ryan and I have
had our life’s plans be forever altered beyond what we ever could have
asked or imagined. We have had gone through the good, the bad, and the ugly and we know that we will again. Today though, we rejoice, we clap our hands, and our hearts are full of
bursting praise because God’s goodness is present and active in our marriage,
in our lives. There will be rain and storms, but it is purposeful and yields a
rich harvest. This is why I will keep
praying for my tribe, my friends, my family, everyone who needs to see the hand
of God at work. I will also keep being thankful, for the unknown, unplanned,
unimagined. God is always working, and His work is always good. Let us be
bursting with the praise that He so richly deserves.
