Laundry Lessons

I have had to do a lot of extra laundry this week (sick kiddos :( ). It started me thinking about stains. Some stains come out without much effort while some take great effort and others I can't get out at all. I have tried lots of different cleaning aids because water alone can't do it. Some live up to their claims and others fall short. If I clean the stain as soon as possible I have much better success than if I leave it until laundry day. The longer the stain sits the harder it is to get out.

Isaiah 1:16 and 18

16Wash you, make you ^bclean; put away the ^cevil of your doings from before mine eyes; ^dcease to do evil;

18Come now, and let us ^areason together, saith the Lord: though your ^bsins be as scarlet, they shall be as ^cwhite as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Cleaning takes work. Sometimes I have this block in my mind and I think "oh that will come out, it's not that big of a deal." I believe the easy way will be all that is needed. And sometimes it does work, but it is a gamble that I shouldn't take with laundry or with my spiritual standing.

Through the atonement of Jesus Christ all may become clean even though the sin may be scarlet it will be white like the snow. Can I just sit by and expect to be clean? Of course not. He is the solution, but it is my job to apply it. If I leave my sins they become harder to get out, but even then, He is all powerful. There is no stain He cannot remove. What an incredible blessing! I am not worthy of such a gift, but how much I need Him! Although it can be uncomfortable and embarrassing my stains should draw me to Him.

I love the phrase "Come now, and let us reason together." Come now-don't wait until the sin causes more damage and work than is necessary. Let us reason together-we will work it out. I have a beautiful image in my mind of sitting on a comfy couch with my Lord who is full of love for me, sorting through all my problems and coming up with a plan. But I need to take the first step and "come."

The goal is to avoid stains from the very beginning-"cease to do evil", but when I do, all is not lost. Even when I feel I am so dirty, somewhere in my mind I know that there is a way. He is the way.

The next time you are doing your laundry, take some time to think of stains that need to be cleaned off your spiritual self and rejoice that you know of a way to get them out and it will work all of the time on every kind of stain.