I’ll let you in on a little secret: I love doing laundry.

I know. Don’t hate me.

What is considered never-ending and the most mundane of tasks by the general population, I find deeply satisfying. I love the sight of fresh-smelling, neatly folded clothes and the knowledge that they will wrap my family in warmth for the next week. I love being victorious over stubborn stains; so much so, that on more than one occasion, my youngest traded shirts with a friend at school who spilled something on theirs and was afraid to bring it home, dirty, to their own mom! She said to them, with confidence, “Let my mom wash it; she LOVES stains!” Perhaps more than any of these things, I love the way that finished laundry opens up the week ahead; it provides me with an empty hamper and a clean slate.

You must be wondering what has me thinking about laundry on this, the first day of a brand new year. I guess it’s the fact that I spent yesterday mentally going through 2008, the good, the bad and the dirty. And then, I found this verse:

…But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV

No matter what has gone before, by faith we are WASHED CLEAN in the name of Jesus! Even more than my most-trusted brand names of laundry aids – my Tide, Downy, and lo, even my OxyClean – the mighty name of Jesus is the most powerful of all, able to clean even the worst and most ground-in stains of the heart and mind. What good news as we look to the new year! Our slate has been cleaned and, if you will, our hamper has been emptied!I’m praying that as I go through this year, my laundry will be less soiled and the hamper will not be as full when I sit on this day in 2010. However, I know that if I find myself sporting a laundry challenge, I can hand it over to Him with confidence. Like me, I believe He finds great joy in the removal of a tough stain!

I’m praying for all of us that we will stay continually in the cleansing name of our sweet Jesus in 2009, leaving us emitting the fresh and beautiful fragrance of Him.

Ahhh…wash day!