HomeSo, still following along? This is where it starts to get painful for some of you and this is where we need to start looking a bit more at some biblical examples. Stick with me though, the reward is great, the joy is greater and the glory is God’s. You wouldn’t selflessly do anything on your own anyway. Selfishly maybe, but not selflessly.
You know the drill. Your wife has gone on a trip. You want to show her how much you love her. This is a hard measure since she has taken your four children. I want to keep reiterating that. She was in the midst of serving you by going on vacation when you couldn’t due to work. So how do you out do her in love and generosity. It’s a tall order.
Ok, so take a look around the house. We cleaned the first floor so far. A few things left to do, empty the dishwasher, clean the newly dirtied dishes. You sent her some sweet texts today, and if you really put your heart into it, you started writing a hand written letter. Yes, with neat lettering. None of that chicken scratch stuff you write your list for Home Depot with. Also, you are continuing to pray for her as now she is a couple days into the trip, the kids are getting settled and back into their element in their new location. You need to continue to pray for peace and safety and health, because your father also came home from Spain with some stomach bug. Not cool. She needs support and discernment and perseverance.
So what else can you do to tangibly love her. Have you taken a look in the Laundry room? Chances are that she did a bunch of laundry getting ready to go, but likely only the loads that needed to be done for filling the suitcases. And likely that was in the last day before she left because with 4 children, things are just crazy. Yeah, that’s right, you see where I am going. Have you been in the laundry room lately? Well, I hope so. You should at least know how to operate these 2 pieces of machinery.
The next tip is… Do the Laundry
So, what would be wonderful for your wife? For her return to start out at zero. Zero Laundry. Except of course for that which they bring home with them, but if you know your wife, she probably did most of the laundry before coming home so the kids would have something that fit to wear the next day. That lady is such a planner. But if you think about it, she also did it because there was laundry at home and she didn’t want to start out too far behind. But you are going to do one better. Aren’t you?
So, you sort the laundry. NO, reds do not go in with the WHITES. You sort the colors and whites and towels and you start a load. Yes, check the soap level silly, you remember what happened to the Brady kids when they put too much soap in the washer? Yeah, don’t do that or you will undo all your points and end up in the negative zone.
Anyway, Laundry is that thing that you can do and do something else. You know, modern technology. Wash the laundry, do something else. Since no children are around, you can then take care of the dishes while the clothes wash. Hint, Hint. then what?
Well, then you put those in the next big metal box, the dryer. Then put the next load in the washer. Repeat. Finish cleaning the bathrooms. remember the tip to clean? Clean the bathrooms. You should have a good 45 min to an hour to do so. You are a guy. You are generally disgusting. Clean the bathrooms, for her sake. And for yours.
Now. the next thing is to actually get the laundry out of those plastic containers that are called baskets and fold it. This is often best done efficiently on your bed or on your dining room table. Get everything folded and sorted by who it belongs to. Then do something absolutely crazy… don’t put it back into the basket and stack them in the corner. Actually go into your children’s rooms and put the clothes away, then put her clothes away and then sort all those tiny socks and put the towels in the linen closet if you have one, or wherever you put them.
Yes, take care of her undergarments. find out where they go and put them there. Chances are you may not know where any of these things go because you might live out of a basket, or you may have the incorrect belief that little laundry fairies do your laundry and put it away every week. That little washer gnomes come and collect your socks and underwear off the floor where you left them and they suddenly reappear in your drawer ready to wear.
All that is tongue in cheek. You probably do laundry. You probably take care of it. You may even do all of it. But if this is a totally foreign idea to you… I would follow the directions above and have all the laundry done before she arrives. and not just washed and dried, but also put away and taken care of in it’s right place. don’t mess up drawers or closets. No throwing it in and slamming the door. That will just de-point you and that is not the point. The point is to love your wife.
Is this biblical? Yes. We are called to serve our wives. We are called to love them as our own bodies. Read Ephesians 5 again. You like the laundry done for you. It is time to return the favor. If you are thinking your are unable or above doing the laundry, then read the chapter again. Nothing done in your house is below you as the husband. You are the servant leader. You lead by serving and in her absence, serve her by handling all the things you are tempted to leave for her.
I promise, it will be worth it. And if it isn’t? Well, you weren’t called to serve if it was fair or convenient. We were called to serve and love and cherish and provide. We gravitate towards the provision at the expense of the others. humble yourself and serve her.
It will change you. It will change her. You will never be the same and God will be honored. But don’t do it for the points. Do it in obedience and do it to love her. If your heart is not in it, or if you are doing any of these things upon conditions in your mind, you have already lost the battle.
More tomorrow. get to folding. and remember. Not too much soap…