Melting the Mountains...

When I was a teenager, I hated hanging laundry outside. The sun always got in my eyes as I tried to look upward at the line so I could clip clothes with those annoying little wooden hangers. After a while, I would get a cramp in my hand, causing my fingers to twist just enough while opening a clothespin, and pinch my finger with the little spring. Sometimes the whole thing would just come undone! GAH! But that was life. So I'd go out later and take my crispy clothes out of the  Texas heat, take them inside and crumple them a few times to soften them up again before being folded and (sometimes) put away. I could have saved myself the crispiness if I would have gone outside and taken them down, instead of leaving them out ALL DAY. But out of sight, out of mind, right? Okay, I'll admit it- I've never enjoyed laundry, whether hanging it in the sun, taking it to the laundromat, or washing and drying from the comfort of my own home. The only time I think I've ever really enjoyed the laundry was before each of my children were born. There's something sweet about folding newborn clothes in anticipation of who is to come... but, *sigh* let's get back to the laundry.

I have to take a certain approach to laundry. It usually goes something like this:
Laundry [looming in closet]: You will never conquer this Mountain! I stand firm with the stench of time and the power of discouragement!

Me: "Yeah, you're probably right. Ok, I'll most likely get to you tomorrow."

{The next day, when the baby is wearing that pair of jeans for a second time- you know the one- it's the pair he spilled ketchup on the day before. You wiped it off, so it's not noticeable, but you can smell it- yuck.}

Laundry: I told you that you could never defeat me! MWAHAHAHA!!I'm HUGE and insurmountable!

Me [with a fierce frustration brought on by the tears of last night's meltdown when the kids' favorite PJ's were not available]: That's IT! I am the woman of this house! I WILL conquer you, oh Mountain of Doom! My children will have their favorite PJ's tonight if it's the LAST THING I DO!!

So, with that, I violently hoist myself off of the couch, grab the laundry basket and start to sort- and wash-and dry- and fold- and even (usually) put away. YESSS!!

I win.

That's a good feeling. I've decided it's a lot like peeling a bandaid off of your arm. If you do it slowly, it's painful and you may just decide to gently put it back, hoping it will magically fall off on its own... but if you just rip it off and get it over with, it's done and you can forget about it. Until, that is, the next day, when you have to wash the hub's work clothes, or the towels or whatever. I like the FlyLady's motto: "A load a day keeps the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) away!"

Now, since being gone a solid week at Christmas, my laundry mountain has become a huge nuissance. It seems that, no matter how hard I've tried, I simply have not been able to finish it. By the time I caught up from Christmas, the kids' laundry basket was full. When I finished that, the basket in our room was full. (I wash them seperately because I have to use a certain detergent for the kids' laundry.) Anyway, today was the day I was finally going to catch up. Hallelujah! It's almost done! I put the last load in the dryer and went to the computer. About fifteen minutes into the dry cycle, I heard it.
Beep!

Beep!

Beep!

What is that?? I went to check, and my dryer was overheating. Of course, I stopped it immediately and checked to make sure I didn't need to grab the fire extinguisher. All clear. Whew! My dryer started to cool off, but refused to turn back on. I had the kids' clothes inside, and HAD to find a way to dry them, if I didn't want them to sour. The last thing I want is to cuddle with my kids and smell that gross "laundry stayed wet too long" smell. So I went to work. I had to find a way to dry the clothes...

So, since it's Texas and 70 degrees in JANUARY- What?!?-  I decided to make a clothesline. I'm no engineer. In college, I did terribly in math & science. In fact, I majored in social work. But I was determined. So, I searched the house to find a long rope, but only found a piece of extra hose that we bought for our refridgerator's ice dispenser. That'll work! I looked for something outside to hang it on, but found nothing. Back into the house. I looked in my closet and found some old railings that don't go to anything but I refused to throw away "just in case" we ever needed them. Today's the day for you guys! Come on! Duct tape? Check! Now, something to hold it up once the weight of the clothes comes down on them- Bamboo! (don't ask). Then, I found a bunjee cord and rigged it around our chimenea for extra support, since one side was wobbly. I have no idea how I did this, but here's what I got:

BAM!! I can't express how good it felt to get it done. Sometimes I am amazed at what I can do if I have to. Now our clothes will be dry, and my hubs can check out my dryer when he gets home from work. No worries. Laundry mountain: CONQUERED.

So here's the lesson I re-learned today. We are all, I truly believe, stronger than we think we are. 

How many times have you seen someone go through a crisis and hear them say something like: "I never thought I could get through something like this, but here I am."

If you're a Christian, you have something really cool living inside of you. Nevermind the mental image that just popped into your head of the little alien dancer from Space Balls singing "Hello my baby, hello my darling..." Oh, that didn't pop into your head? Ok, then I'm weird, because I was totally thinking of that!! Back to the point...

If you're a Christian, you have something really cool living inside of you- the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" Cool, huh? The Spirit of God lives in you- that means that when you are at a loss, when you are overwhelmed, when you need some help, some strength, an idea, some joy, or whatever, all you have to do is look inside of you and see that God is helping you. Hebrews 4:16 says, "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

Now, my problem today was a little one- my dryer broke. I needed to do something out of the ordinary that I wasn't sure I could do. But with God's grace, I had an idea, I found the right supplies, and I was able to make it work- without a meltdown, praise God! But I've found several other times in my life, in harder times, in more complicated situations, that when I looked to the Lord and realized He was with me - and He was IN me- I was able to accomplish more than I had ever dreamed. I was able to stay sane through more than I should have. I was able to finish when I wanted to give up.

So let me encourage you with this: If your mountain is calling out insults, and when you try to conquer it you're met with impossible obstacles, find the Living God who has chosen to dwell in your heart, call out to Him, and let Him work in and through you to do the impossible. Take in Psalm 97:5 "The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the LORD of all the earth." What is your mountain?