Livable Liturgies: Clean Laundry

Hypnotic slosh. Almost like breath. Mystics teach about breath prayer. But the rhythm of the agitator, the snap and click of zippers and buttons slapping the sides of the dryer, these carry alternate rhythms to the hectic days we live as well as the imposed orderliness we try to create.

But I like laundry for other reasons, too:

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.  Isaiah 1.18 

So few things in life allow you start again. I have studied approaches for removing blood, mustard, paint, marker, and more. Stains are not easily removed. Some add character and carry a story. Other stains are like scarlet letters confessing sloppy eating habits to the world. But with careful attention to fabric type, how old the stain is, and what kinds of kitchen chemistry you're capable of, some stains might go away.  Might.

The fact that everyday I can pray "Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen."

"For the sake of your Son..." phrase always gives me pause.

Then, "Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen."

That which takes me hours to do with fabrics and detergents and sometimes some kitchen chemistry, God does, for Christ's sake, as well our own.

Laundry reminds me of what God has done for us.