Praying through the Laundry Pile
I love to do laundry. Don't strangle me. It's just one of those idiosyncracies in my life. I like to sort it by weight and color, by priority, by person.
I like to try new detergents and fabric softeners. I love to fold towels, alternating chocolate brown with sage green, or cranberry with ivory, to make a neat stack. The only thing I don't like to do is match socks-- and I'm not thrilled about putting laundry away.
However, my favorite thing about laundry is praying while folding it. Specifically I pray for each family member as I handle his or her clothes. (Sarah usually does all her own laundry, but I try to remember to pray for her as I fold Joel's, since those two are attached at the hip.)
Here's an example. In a stream-of-consciousnessness way, my laundry praying goes something like this:
Paul's charcoal work pants..."Thank You, Lord, for Paul's faithfulness in his job. Fill him again with your Spirit, refresh him, and let him know he is making a difference."
Ben's blue school pants..."You are good, Father, to have helped me transition from the pain of losing him from our homeschool to the joy of seeing his pleasure with friends at school. Thank You for his disciplined study habits... Can't believe he's graduating this year..."
Sarah's daisy T-shirt: Father, I thank You that I don't have to talk to this girl about modesty. She has always been careful to dress in a way that doesn't call attention to herself."
Stephen's rec basketball shirt: An Ebenezer shirt, God. A sort of "stone of remembrance." I remember how scared I was when he busted his knee and wondered if he'd ever play
basketball again. Thank You for healing him.
Joel's Spiderman t-shirt that he'd wear 4 days in a row if I didn't say something:
You heard and answered with "yes" to my years of praying for a baby to hold. Thank You that You've given me a child who loves to sing praises to You."
My shirt: Lord, I need grace again to get on the treadmill today.
Stephen's socks: Are his feet really this big already?...He has the gift of evangelism..."how beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news, announcing peace... "
Ben's muscle shirt: Lord, thank You for the strength You've given Ben, not just big biceps, but in the area of humble submission lately. For restoring years the locusts had eaten.
Paul's UTM T-shirt: Thank you, Lord, that Your servant has a sense of humor. He laughed when I said this 25-cent shirt's letters probably stand for "Ugly Tall Man". I found out it really stands for University of Tennessee at Memphis but we still laugh when he wears it. Thanks for laughter, God. We'd all shrivel up without it.
My black pants: The treadmill, Lord....I want another smiley face sticker. Please motivate me.
Laundry and praying-- it's a very rewarding duo. The challenge would be to fold your hands while folding your clothes. I haven't found that mandate in scripture, so I'll stick with what works.
Now back to the socks...
I like to try new detergents and fabric softeners. I love to fold towels, alternating chocolate brown with sage green, or cranberry with ivory, to make a neat stack. The only thing I don't like to do is match socks-- and I'm not thrilled about putting laundry away.
However, my favorite thing about laundry is praying while folding it. Specifically I pray for each family member as I handle his or her clothes. (Sarah usually does all her own laundry, but I try to remember to pray for her as I fold Joel's, since those two are attached at the hip.)
Here's an example. In a stream-of-consciousnessness way, my laundry praying goes something like this:
Paul's charcoal work pants..."Thank You, Lord, for Paul's faithfulness in his job. Fill him again with your Spirit, refresh him, and let him know he is making a difference."
Ben's blue school pants..."You are good, Father, to have helped me transition from the pain of losing him from our homeschool to the joy of seeing his pleasure with friends at school. Thank You for his disciplined study habits... Can't believe he's graduating this year..."
Sarah's daisy T-shirt: Father, I thank You that I don't have to talk to this girl about modesty. She has always been careful to dress in a way that doesn't call attention to herself."
Stephen's rec basketball shirt: An Ebenezer shirt, God. A sort of "stone of remembrance." I remember how scared I was when he busted his knee and wondered if he'd ever play
basketball again. Thank You for healing him.
Joel's Spiderman t-shirt that he'd wear 4 days in a row if I didn't say something:
You heard and answered with "yes" to my years of praying for a baby to hold. Thank You that You've given me a child who loves to sing praises to You."
My shirt: Lord, I need grace again to get on the treadmill today.
Stephen's socks: Are his feet really this big already?...He has the gift of evangelism..."how beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news, announcing peace... "
Ben's muscle shirt: Lord, thank You for the strength You've given Ben, not just big biceps, but in the area of humble submission lately. For restoring years the locusts had eaten.
Paul's UTM T-shirt: Thank you, Lord, that Your servant has a sense of humor. He laughed when I said this 25-cent shirt's letters probably stand for "Ugly Tall Man". I found out it really stands for University of Tennessee at Memphis but we still laugh when he wears it. Thanks for laughter, God. We'd all shrivel up without it.
My black pants: The treadmill, Lord....I want another smiley face sticker. Please motivate me.
Laundry and praying-- it's a very rewarding duo. The challenge would be to fold your hands while folding your clothes. I haven't found that mandate in scripture, so I'll stick with what works.
Now back to the socks...
posted by Zoanna at
11:41 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for giving us a glimpse into your world, Zo.
What a great way to pray and how practical! And, i'm thinking that would be such a fun way to teach the boys to help mommy fold laundry and pray at the same time.
Ask me if I follow through on that one in a few years!
I'm going to be praying for you w/ the discipline to do the treadmill. Now that it's nicer weather, is it sufficient to go outside for a walk or do you need to "intensity" of the treadmill?
I love this idea! I'm going to try to put it into practice, which means, I'll be praying for Josh alot! :) I do two loads of his clothes to my one, with all his dirty construction stuff. He'll be blessed I'm sure!
Like Danielle said, what a great idea. I actually can admit I love to do laundry too. Folding, smelling the clean, putting away well thats another story. But while folding your families clothes praying for them! What a great idea. Thanks for this!
I don't have the ironing gene. That is one part of laundry I dread, although once I start into it, it's fine as long as I am not in a hurry. I try to listen to Christian radio or teaching tapes while ironing, but it's a battle for me to set everything up, knock out several wrinkled pieces and carry them to the 3rd floor closets--all without complaining.
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