A good wash

So today, I spent a good 1 hour just watching my clothes being washed in the washer. Why, do you ask? Simply because I felt led by God to watch. And you know what, it was enlightening.

So there I was sitting across the washer, staring and this is what I got-

1. Clothes get dirty even if you don’t see it. I mean, unless you are a messy eater or kids in the house etc. the dirt on clothes/sheets etc are very subtle. That is, subtle till its rinsed & you see how dirty the water got from it.
2. The washing cycle begins with the clothes getting immersed in soap & water.Not halfway but completely, literally till they have no breath (if they needed air LOL)
3. Then begins the wash cycles, the to and fro as it runs clockwise and anti-clockwise. Again and again. If the laundry could talk, am sure it would be like *spin* “Woah” *stops momentarily* “thank god!” *spins again* “Argh, again” & so on. As this happens the soap works its magic into the stains etc. and latches onto it so that eventually it separated from the clothes.
4. After some time, the water gets drained out with the soap/dirt articles.
5. And then again, water is filled up and yet again, the wash cycles. And you know what, this happened a few times. And the first time it repeated I was wondering why it had to do it, before I noticed the soap. See the thing is, the cycles have to be done again and again, because at the end of it all, you want even the soap removed from the laundry.
6. Drain the water – Finally all of the gunk is drained and the laundry is safe.
7. Spin – And before the laundry can take a breath, it starts a cycle of spin that is go fast, the enter washer vibrates and shudders and makes noise. Again, pretty traumatizing for the clothes 😀
8. Take out and dry – And this is redemption for the clothes, they are finally taken out. All stains removed, smelling fresh and good and ready to begin afresh.

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Fast forward, a few days later, they will haveto be washed again because lets face it, they will get soiled again. (THE CYCLE NEVER ENDS)

So this entire process, let me think about how our lives are like a good wash. So lets go over it again, this time with my lessons

1. Clothes get dirty even if you don’t see it. I mean, unless you are a messy eater or kids in the house etc. the dirt on clothes/sheets etc are very subtle. That is, subtle till its rinsed & you see how dirty the water got from it. Ok, so life can get messy. Sometimes we see, but sometimes we just don’t realize it. Until something happens and we are suddenly aware of it.
2. The washing cycle begins with the clothes getting immersed in soap & water.Not halfway but completely, literally till they have no breath (if they needed air LOL). Now I imagine, God takes the initial steps to cleanse our life. And this can look like having us drowning in our problems, or worries, or just the situation. It can even begin to feel like the end, but what we don’t realize is this, He’s just starting a cleansing in your life.
3. Then begins the wash cycles, the to and fro as it runs clockwise and anti-clockwise. Again and again. If the laundry could talk, am sure it would be like *spin* “Woah” *stops momentarily* “thank god!” *spins again* “Argh, again” & so on. As this happens the soap works its magic into the stains etc. and latches onto it so that eventually it separated from the clothes. Now here’s the thing, life can be a roller coaster, especially when God starts working. We see so many things happening in our life, maybe we find ways to overcome our problems and then suddenly things switch up again and we find ourselves being tossed and turned again. And again. And again. And this can be soooooo hard, but just like the clothes, sometimes all we can do is stop resisting and move as the controlling force leads us, no matter how rough it gets. 
4. After some time, the water gets drained out with the soap/dirt articles. And then, relief, the situation or the problems calm down and you feel like life is getting back in control again.
5. And then again, water is filled up and yet again, the wash cycles. And you know what, this happened a few times. And the first time it repeated I was wondering why it had to do it, before I noticed the soap. See the thing is, the cycles have to be done again and again, because at the end of it all, you want even the soap removed from the laundry. So here’s the thing, God sometimes brings some circumstances, people, places etc. to serve as soap in our life. That is an agent to help in the cleaning process. But at the end of the day, the soap shouldn’t be stuck to you for you to be clean. In fact, if you are taken out with these agents, it could end up with other negative aspects. So God makes things happen to enable us to detach from anything that holds our lives from being productive for His will. And this can be hard, because we know how important that soap was to us, making us who we are. But let go we must, because it was only for a season and now it has passed.
6. Drain the water – Finally all of the gunk is drained and the laundry is safe. Now relief, you are clean and detached from the circumstances and you feel better.
7. Spin – And before the laundry can take a breath, it starts a cycle of spin that is go fast, the enter washer vibrates and shudders and makes noise. Again, pretty traumatizing for the clothes 😀 haha, and now, we find ourselves being shaken, stirred, pressed down etc. but fear not, remember that this is just God shaking us up to be ready and set to step out into what He has planned for us. So really, just pray and lean on Him and go with Him, and try to enjoy the ride 🙂
8. Take out and dry – And this is redemption for the clothes, they are finally taken out. All stains removed, smelling fresh and good and ready to begin afresh. And this is when God has brought us to where He wanted us. New! Clean! Praise God.

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Fast forward, a few days later, they will haveto be washed again because lets face it, they will get soiled again. (THE CYCLE NEVER ENDS) Psst. You know what, no matter what, this life we live always needs us to be washed in Gods hands because we live in a messy world. And the mess of the world can stain our lives. So, we constantly need to be ready to get the good wash experience from God. Of course, it helps us to use the ready stain avoidance/removal guide to wipe us down once in a while, that is the Word of God.

Amazing isn’t it. He truly keeps us pure.