Mountains of laundry!

Do you ever feel like the laundry multiplies and grows on its own? With four kids and a newborn, laundry is an unending task at our house! And, for me, I tend to do the laundry in order of importance- who needs underwear, do we have towels clean, Abby’s blankets… Yesterday, Brian needed a shirt to wear to work. He has to dress up, but his office has gone away from wearing ties. Well, he has two categories of shirts in his closet- those he can wear without ties and shirts that only look good with a tie. Brian prefers the shirts he doesn’t have to wear with a tie, and guess which ones were the only ones clean? You got it- the shirts he has to wear with the tie. (But, he looks so handsome with the tie, though!) He didn’t complain about the lack of shirts in his closet, just gave me a hug and kiss when he left.

Now, the really cool part of the story is that when he got to work, he got called into an important meeting unexpectantly. He was so glad he had on a shirt and tie!!!!! God was looking out for him! What looked like an inconvenience turned out to be a blessing! Praise God! He does “work ALL things (even these little things!) together for good for those who love him and are called according to His purpose!”

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans for hope and a future. Plans not to harm you, but to prosper you. Plans for good and not evil.” –Jeremiah 29:11

I have been praying a pray recently when I am out walking in the morning. I copied it from a great book I am reading, “A Woman after God’s Own Heart” by Elizabeth George. She was writing about giving ourselves to God daily and included this prayer written by a missionary who ultimately did give her life for her God!

“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me, seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”

Honestly, when I pray that, the first reaction of my flesh is to cry out, “Do I really want to pray this?!” I think, do I really want to GIVE UP my plans, desires, the things I want to do??? What if I don’t get to do the things I want to do, the things on my agenda, the things I am planning? The first few times I prayed this prayer, it was with hesitation, a little nervous about what God would possibly change.

Then, the Holy Spirit really spoke into my heart! How am I looking at my God? Am I really seeing Him as the good, generous, wonderful God that He is? Why would I assume that His plans for me are so different than my own? Hasn’t He placed these desires in my heart? I realized the enemy loves to whisper these lies into our minds that God is going to take away all of the things that are important to us if we surrender and submit them to Him. I replaced the lies with the Truth that God loves me and that He is good, everything He does is good, that He has good plans for me, and that He works ALL things together for good. As I continued to pray and talk to God, I also realized that IF God prunes away something from my life, then it isn’t for my BEST. As I prayed this prayer again, I earnestly told God that if there wasn’t anything in my life that was in His will, then take it away. I don’t want even good things- plans, purposes, desires, and hopes that aren’t God’s BEST for me. I truly want to give God my whole self and be used for His plans and purposes.

So, I have been beginning each day with this prayer. And, as I gave God my plans for today, writing a devotion WAS NOT in my plan- I have laundry to do! But, I knew I could not go through my day, filled with His peace, until I sat down and obediently wrote the things He has placed on my heart. He knew someone needed encouragement today!

Father, we praise You and love You! Thank You that You are good and that You have GOOD plans for us. Lord, we do submit ourselves to You today. We give you are own plans today. Lord, prune away the things that are not of You and bless the plans and purposes that are according to Your will. We praise You! In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.