Ironing

by Barbara Chadwick



I hate ironing. It makes my back hurt. It is boring. It is tiring. It is repetitive.

I let it accumulate for weeks then, finally, out of some sense of duty/obligation or some other word that I can't think of right now I drag out the ironing board and the iron.

I ironed a shirt one day and Kenneth wore it the very next day! My brain said, "for goodness sakes, let it hang in the closet for a couple of days at least!" But I just smiled at him and said, "You look nice."

A friend told me she loved ironing. She loved seeing those wrinkles straightened and shirts brought to life. I prefer to see shirts brought to life straight out of the dryer!

But this part made me feel bad (guilty, you know) She said this was also her time to pray. She prayed for the one who would be wearing whatever she was ironing. She prayed that as that one went about their day they would glorify God in their activities. She prayed for friends, for God's blessings on their home and for her church.

So I've been trying to look at this hateful task in a new light. The bathroom light. That's the room that has the most light in this house. No, really, last week when I gathered all the clothes that had to be ironed and got out all the stuff - the board, the iron, the spray starch, the water (for the steam) - I stood there a moment thinking about my friend. Then I began to ask God to change my attitude. As I ironed I prayed that as we wore those clothes God would use us to touch the lives of others, to be encouragers, to be a blessing and to be a help in times of trouble.

Guess what?! In no time at all I was done and my heart was light.

Prayer does change things - mostly me!

Listen to how Peterson translates Romans 12:1-2:

So, here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit unto it withour even thinking. Instead, fix your attenton on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I wonder if God gets as tired ironing out the wrinkles of me as I do in ironing the shirts? I'm so glad He's not through with me yet!