Good morning…
We had a laundry chute when I was growing up at 525 Fair Street in Berea, Ohio. Now, for those who have never experienced the life saving ease of this awesome invention, a laundry chute is a shaft, running between the upper and lower floors of a home, used to transfer soiled laundry to the lowest level by gravity.
Think with me now: “Isn’t the laundry chute a great symbol of prayer?”
Every day, each one of us experiences “soiled.” Soiled clothes and soiled expectations. Soiled motives and soiled actions. Soiled emotions and soiled relationships. Too often, we allow our soiled pieces to build up, unattended, strewn all over our private room. Surrounded by inner chaos, we flop onto our bed, tired and overwhelmed, “Ugh! I guess it’s time to deal with my piles of dirty laundry.” We load up our soiled stuff and burden down a big basket, a heaping basket way too heavy for us to carry alone.
This is where the laundry chute of prayer comes in quite handy. We set down our overflowing basket. We notice and name our soiled pieces. One by one, one by one, we release each item into God’s chute, a chute which connects our various levels. Like gravity, our Caregiver collects into nurturing arms our stinky, stained stuff. The LORD is in the laundry business, washing clean our soiled, returning our daily-wear white as snow, white as wool. Because we are clothed with a selfish human nature, we know that the natural process of soiling will take over again, yet we must trust that God’s chute can be utilized day or night. Receiving our soiled soul through honest prayer, our loving LORD is always ready to wash clean our dirty laundry.
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool,” Isaiah 1:18 (NLT),
Sue
