The laundry has been waving at me from their clean yet unfolded baskets for two weeks now.
When clothes are needed, we pull them out of their basket-dressers, wrinkled and shrunken small, and hope to put together a somewhat coordinated outfit.
It’s been five days since the floor was last swept. This is a long time when you consider I live with an 85 pound yellow Labrador Retriever, three children under six years of age, and a husband.
Our backyard could be a ring for the next National Mud Wrestling Competition, which makes the fact that I haven’t swept in five days even worse.
There is pancake batter caked on the lower cabinets under my mixer on the counter. I’m not sure how long it’s been there.
I found dead flies in our windowpanes. I’m not sure how long they’ve been there, either.
Six Matchbox cars, a hair bow, a few pieces of dried macaroni, and a hairball from Ellie (which didn’t find the hair bow – wouldn’t that have been a beautiful union?) were found under the oven.
And really, there’s more I could share but why? I think you probably get it.
There’s just something about the spring that makes me want to start anew, clean away the cobwebs and the dust, get out of my “Domesticus Out-of-Syncness” and become the woman that I’m usually not.
And as I scrubbed the caked-on pancake batter from our wood cabinets until they gleamed, I heard so clearly.
“This is what I do for you every day,” He said.
I marvel over His truth because really, it’s so true isn’t it? The single-most reason I thought I might like to follow this Jesus guy was the fact that He just makes us as white as snow and grants us new mercies each day.
To a girl who certainly doesn’t have it all together as a wife, a mom, a friend, a whatever – this is huge.
As I devote two hours to working out of this out-of-sync mess, I notice this connection, too.
It’s not until we really devote some time to Him that we can work our way out of the out-of-syncness of our own lives. Not just the two minute prayer I’m guilty of uttering before I nod off. No.
Real time. Time to get to know His truth. What He’s telling me.
I’ve noticed as of late that it’s when I’m really in-tune with Him that I hear His words but when I think He’s silent, it’s really my own ears that have closed.
Thankfully, He doesn’t get out-of-sync with us. He’s the God who was and is and is yet to come. Whew.
And even more thankfully, He washes us with His grace-filled water each day, holding the gift out to us and hoping we choose to tear it open.
My mind hungrily devours this peace, this knowing that everyone’s laundry has been folded AND put away, the muddy floor has been mopped, the flies from the windowsill have been removed and the items under the stove have been retrieved.
I feel back in order. And all it took was a bit of time.
And the perfect answer to an out-of-sync soul was revealed, too.
i’ve been so out of synch…but my problem is that i haven’t taken the time to get back IN synch!! i need some cobweb clearin’….thank you for this post :)
Peace with God comes in such mysterious and surprising ways sometimes…I thought that the last time I mopped my floor. I need to mop again.
LOVE this, Natalie!
I feel exactly like your house whenever I go some time without spending time in the Word and in prayer. Just like that. And the people around me can tell too!
WOW! This is amazing, just what i needed right now. Life has seemed so out of control the last couple of weekends, but I just need to get over myself and realize the truth!
I’ve been traveling this road currently too. So happy to know I’m not alone. Loved what you added in the about His NEW mercies. ~Jessica
First, so excited to see your She Speaks button! I’ll be there too.
I love your first sentence about the laundry waving to you for two weeks. I feel as if my laundry has given up on me, and no longer waves.
I think every woman can identify with this! You look up and wonder how everything got so “out of synch” – but I love what you said about how He never gets out of synch with us. Thank goodness! The time needed for devotion and getting back straight with God really speaks to me as well. Thank you for this post :)
This resonates SO MUCH with me this week. Last week, I went through some really great cleaning spurts and I felt so accomplished and together. This week, the house (and consequently my life) is completely out of sorts and I can’t seem to get back on track. I’ve been thinking (while in my car, working out, attending to the next task at hand, etc.) about how I need to spend more time with God, but I just haven’t done it. I’m quite sure that I would feel so much better if I just sat down and spent some time with Him to get myself refocused. Thanks for giving me the inspiration to do just that. :)
My house is suffering from that exact same thing right now!