Monday, March 22, 2010

thoughts from the line


today was sunny and gorgeous, i had kept the house clean enough over the weekend to not feel buried with chores and it's monday- which is laundry day. all this equaled today being the perfect day to start a habit i have been meaning to for a looonnggg time. and so i dragged my first batch of wet clothes out to the backyard, rigged up my line and started to hang.

i was recently re-inspired to try and line dry our clothes thanks to an article on http://simplemom.net that lindy turned me on to.

i loved the author's perspective on this seemingly tedious and unnecessary extra chore. to her, it had become a sweet household ritual. her kids would play around her basket as she hung her families clothes. it became a time to go outside and be together and do something meaningful for the people she loved. well, to her, it had become something meaningful. and after one day doing it i see why and i am so inspired.

something about being in the sunshine with my girls, something about touching and seeing each article of clothing that i had haphazardly shoved in the washer, something about it taking time and energy, something about the way my first load smelled like the bbq from my neighbors yard (not desirable) but my second smelled like orange blossoms.

i think i learned a big lesson today about what housework is supposed to mean, and how it's a sanctifying work. because all our work can be prayer, it can all be worship and sacrifice if our heart is making it so. our work can be a chore or a burden or it can be a gift of love to the Maker and to the ones He has entrusted us to care for. for me, hanging our clothes on the line forced me into that mental space, into that heart space. it is easy for me to begrudgingly shove wet clothes into the dryer, hit the button and hurry to the next task without stopping to really love what i am doing and who i am doing it for.

when you reach into a heavy basket full of wet clothes, when you shake the wrinkles out of each piece and turn each pantleg right side out, when you hang countless pairs of teeny princess undies and when you are being helped by a 3 year old- you are forced to take your time, to think about each member of your family, to do your job deliberately, carefully, with grace and with love...

i realized that for me, in my small spot in the world, with my mostly unseen vocation, with my simple title of wife and mom... my laundry can make me a saint. so can my dustpan and boogery noses and packing my man a lunch.

and while these things aren't often accomplished with a happy heart or with grace, or at all, for that matter... at least i know what i'm going for.

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