INSPIRASUNS

One of the very first little blogs I wrote, almost three years ago now, was about taking care of the linens in our church. It’s timely I guess because just this morning I was ironing the linens to take with me to church. It reminded me of that little blog and I thought today might be a good day to just share it again here. I can’t believe that was three years ago.

As I reread it I realized the message is still the same. Find something that helps you not only spend time with Father, but honor Him. So I share this little blog from three years ago, “Ironing”, with you this morning. Have a wonderful day friends 🙂

Ironing
The favorite chore of all time…said no one ever. I do have a few friends who absolutely love ironing. Well, me, um, not so much. Like most people, I prefer “wrinkle-free” clothing these days, especially down here in SW FL, where things tend to be a little more casual. Now, having said all that, I will say, I have found a time to iron that I dearly love, indulge me for a moment as I explain 🙂

One of our older parishioners, Claire, is responsible for taking the dirty altar linens home each week to wash and iron them. She is a wonderful woman, and she just quietly, behind the scenes, performs this service to our Lord. Each Sunday, the altar is adorned with beautiful white cloths that are nicely folded and creased, and no one even thinks about how they got there.

Well, a month or so ago, Claire headed out on vacation to visit her family. I was on altar guild duty the Sunday after she left, and as I was putting the dirty linens in the collection tub, our rector remembered, “Oh my goodness, Claire is on vacation for the next three weeks”. I opened up the tub and peered in to see if there was anything scary in it. Nah, pretty harmless, I thought. “I’d be happy to take over cleaning these until she comes back”, I boldly declared. Our rector didn’t flinch and just said, “That would be such a help, thanks so much”.

So, I loaded up that week’s linens and trotted home to tackle this special ministry. I carefully checked each cloth, looking for communion wine or other stains, and added the spot remover. Then, into the washer in a load by themselves, they went. Next, I carefully made the transfer to the dryer, inspecting each one to make sure the spots had come out.

Now it was time for the folding and ironing to make the beautiful creases I see each Sunday. I must say this was harder than I thought it would be. You see, each cloth has a cross in the center of it. You have to fold the cloth in thirds in each direction so that when flipped over, the cross is at the center of the folded cloth. Well, with my type A personality… I was folding and refolding just a hair here and there, until finally, I ironed and made those creases. Ya, it probably took waaaay longer than it should have and waaay longer than Claire takes being a pro at this. But I was very satisfied with the results 🙂

I bring all this up simply to share that while I spent the three weeks taking care of these special linens, I was talking to and serving our Lord. Yes, it was a very simple task that took very little time, relatively speaking (even with my type A side), but it was a time to reflect on my love for Father. This simple task had me laser-focused on what I was doing and why I was doing it. Not many tasks in this world, especially right now, have people laser-focused.

So, on this Sunday morning, I encourage you to think about some little things you can be doing to serve God. You don’t need to look at anything complicated. Perhaps it’s weeding a garden with a friend, volunteering for Meals on Wheels, or maybe you volunteer to visit a senior living facility and read to the residents. Take some time to visit a VA hospital and play cards with a veteran. Or maybe volunteer at a local food bank. Whatever the task, spend time with Father, and be focused for just that little bit. Trust me, you’ll come away feeling a little different inside 🙂

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.