By Pamela Van Atta
Piles of dishes, loads of laundry, and a To Do List a mile long overwhelms even the best of women. The difficulty with housework stems from the simplicity of it. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to vacuum the floor, nor can anyone win a Nobel peace prize from making the bed.Because of its mundane, routine nature, society undervalues work in the house. And unappreciated work creates unappreciated workers. And unappreciated workers eventually buy into the idea that their work is worthless. Without believing in the worth of housework, disorganization, inefficiency, and apathy run rampant through the home.
So can God help me with my housework? I mean he did create the heavens and the earth. Do dust bunnies fall under the heaven and earth category? I believe they do. And I believe he can prescribe a tailored remedy to your housework challenges.
Thousands of books exist ready to transform the clutter bug. But any book I read, I find only one or two suggestions that work for my family. Frustrated with my overwhelming household chores, I inquired of God, himself.
I found a parable that spoke volumes about my housework. In Isaiah God says, “When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil? His God instructs him and teaches him the right way” (28:24, 26 NIV). So many things can go wrong in farming. But God says, “I’ll teach you the right way.”
“So God,” I said, “What am I doing wrong?” I took out a pen and began to journal. Then somewhere in the midst of my scribbling, I noticed a theme emerge. Apparently, I acquired a rather lousy work ethic for chores. I quickly explained to God, “Lord these chores are mind-boggling-boring! How can anyone be inspired to do such basic things?”
In a flash, the “Virtuous Woman” of Proverbs 31 sprang to mind. I read the passage several times in my NIV version of the Bible, but nothing seemed to make sense. Then I read it in the Message which says, “First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work (Prov. 31: 8-9).
A light burst on in my head. My lousy work ethic stems from my inability to sense the worth of my work. Immediately I asked God, “Teach me the worth of my work.” Not long after, I remembered a friend of mine giving a testimony at church.
Mary stood in front of our Sunday school class with tears streaming down her sweet face. “I feel like an ugly old troll,” she said. “I’ve felt like this since I can remember, but have no clue as to why.” She told us she asked God to heal her from this feeling. And miraculously he did. “I remembered going to school dirty. And the school sent me home because of my filth,” Mary said, still crying.
I see how my children’s self-concept grows from their environment. I now realize the worth of my work. If my children live in a chaotic, cluttered environment, they will feel chaotic and cluttered. But if they dwell in an organized, clean home, they will graft that order into their own lives.
This knowledge improves my work ethic. Now I sense the worth of my work. However, this is what God taught me. What God uses to inspire me in my housework may not be the same he will use to inspire you. Therefore, take a few minutes and ask God, “Teach me the worth of my work.” What does he say?
Once I received motivation to do my housework, I inquired of God again. “Lord,” I said, “Teach me the right way to do my housework.” And God answered. Within no time, ideas fell from heaven. Laundry, for instance, is a constant thorn in my flesh. My method of dealing with the laundry is denial. I simply deny its existence, which clearly is not the right way to do laundry.
God knows my tendency to become overwhelmed by laundry. So his idea for me is to do only one load per day. And for me, it works. I’m never overwhelmed because I’m always caught up. I look into the dirty clothes hamper and think, “I can do that.”
God also taught me the right way to put clothes away. Putting clothes in the washer is one thing, but folding clothes and putting them away is a whole other world. I absolutely hate folding clothes. So God’s solution for me was a no brainer. He said, “Try hanging them up.” And I did. I hang everything up now except for underwear and socks.
Laundry at this point in my life is relatively easy, with the exception of socks. “Lord what do I do about the sock fiasco in my house?” I can’t tell my oldest son’s socks from my youngest. My husband’s socks never seem to wind up in the same load. And being left with three socks, none of which match, makes me want to pull my hair out.
God’s answer was a stroke of sheer genius. He gave me the idea to throw out all socks. Now my two sons wear the same sock size. So I bought both of them all new socks only each pair was completely identical. I did the same with my husband’s socks and my own. Everyone has nine pairs of matching white socks. So when I do the laundry, I don’t match the socks. I simply put them in the sock drawer. And whichever two socks we pull out, they match.
My laundry dilemma God solved himself. He knows my personality, and my unique tendencies. He understands what I can handle and what I can’t. And he knows you inside and out. He can solve any household chore that challenges you. I promise no pile of laundry is too high for him. All you have to do is ask, “Teach me to do things your way in my house Lord.” What does he say?
©2007 Pamela Van Atta. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Bio:
Pamela Van Atta is the founder of Healing Works Ministry, which provides affordable biblical teaching to kids and adults. Prior to her work in ministry, Pamela spent a decade working in rehab as an Occupational Therapist, but found physical healing incomparable to spiritual healing. Today, she speaks at various organizations to facilitate a deeper relationship with God. To contact Pamela, please see her website at www.healingworksministry.com.
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