So, last week our small group was going through The Story of God, and discussing the realities, allegories, and implications of it all. In varying detail, we told the story of a beautiful, wild and tropical place, complete with happy neked people spending time in the company of their good Creator.
Earlier that evening, one of my friends was sharing her desire to have "loads upon loads of laundry" like I do, at least in that she longs for marriage and children. While she & I chatted, I was struck by two things: first, how even the mundane chores of my life can be coveted blessings for another person. Second, I caught myself trying not to be jealous as she described her building's laundry facilities, with multiple machines and times when she could sit in quiet and do all of her (two weeks') laundry at once. It sounded like fiction - like the "laundry fairy" who works magic in our house.
The two conversations, it turns out, are quite connected. The neked people eventually had to put on some clothes, because they made a couple of choices that put them at odds with their God and changed their perspective on what He created. Not only that, but the consequences of those early choices changed the course of history for all of us. Specifics, of course, depend on who you talk to, but our small group had quite the lively conversation on the topic. Every choice has its consequences, big or small. In my house, the laundry fairy went truant for several days, and now she's facing her own penance.
See, I just put a fourth load of laundry into the washer. It was cloth diapers, so it is set to a delayed start (to hit lower energy use time for its several cycles of scalding hot water). When I wake up tomorrow, I will be about halfway through the piles of laundry here, and that's if I stuff a bit more than I should into the "colored" loads.
Then again, there's an odd stench wafting from the coat closet, and I'm reminded that the boys' afternoon playtime outside in the garden (dirt) and clubhouse (with puddles) means I need to wash their coats and shoes before things get too rank around here. What's more, I recently resigned my own coat to the laundry, after my youngest son walked his cute almond-butter fingers up my arms.
Okay, I'm probably not halfway done.
Am I horribly ungrateful to secretly wish for a laundry "facility" with multiple machines, wifi, and time to sit quietly and chat with friends online? Perhaps the real blame is pointed at those first people - the ones who decided it was shameful to run around neked all the time.
While it may not be the most serious plague of our time, I'm pretty convinced that one of the most tangible results of the "fall of mankind" is the piles of laundry around my ankles.
Earlier that evening, one of my friends was sharing her desire to have "loads upon loads of laundry" like I do, at least in that she longs for marriage and children. While she & I chatted, I was struck by two things: first, how even the mundane chores of my life can be coveted blessings for another person. Second, I caught myself trying not to be jealous as she described her building's laundry facilities, with multiple machines and times when she could sit in quiet and do all of her (two weeks') laundry at once. It sounded like fiction - like the "laundry fairy" who works magic in our house.
The two conversations, it turns out, are quite connected. The neked people eventually had to put on some clothes, because they made a couple of choices that put them at odds with their God and changed their perspective on what He created. Not only that, but the consequences of those early choices changed the course of history for all of us. Specifics, of course, depend on who you talk to, but our small group had quite the lively conversation on the topic. Every choice has its consequences, big or small. In my house, the laundry fairy went truant for several days, and now she's facing her own penance.
See, I just put a fourth load of laundry into the washer. It was cloth diapers, so it is set to a delayed start (to hit lower energy use time for its several cycles of scalding hot water). When I wake up tomorrow, I will be about halfway through the piles of laundry here, and that's if I stuff a bit more than I should into the "colored" loads.
Then again, there's an odd stench wafting from the coat closet, and I'm reminded that the boys' afternoon playtime outside in the garden (dirt) and clubhouse (with puddles) means I need to wash their coats and shoes before things get too rank around here. What's more, I recently resigned my own coat to the laundry, after my youngest son walked his cute almond-butter fingers up my arms.
Okay, I'm probably not halfway done.
Am I horribly ungrateful to secretly wish for a laundry "facility" with multiple machines, wifi, and time to sit quietly and chat with friends online? Perhaps the real blame is pointed at those first people - the ones who decided it was shameful to run around neked all the time.
While it may not be the most serious plague of our time, I'm pretty convinced that one of the most tangible results of the "fall of mankind" is the piles of laundry around my ankles.
4 comments:
This is where the amen comes from another mamatoo as she glances at her three, over stuffed, piling over, baskets of clothes, just waiting for the laundry fairy to fold them. She'd settle for prince charming too, but know he's just not inclined to.
McGowan Laws of Nature:
children 8 and over do their own laundry, children 8 and under are allowed to run around neKed. :)
Thanks for the perspective! Miss you guys! Jamie
I love your rules, lunch lady! I'm not opposed to nekedness, though I've found it does make social gatherings a bit awkward and is discouraged at the elementary school (sheesh, the things public schools get picky about! haha)
Still, I like the concept. Now... to get at least one of my little guys over 8 years old!
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