Am I so presumptuous to claim that I have found the key to the looming task that is LAUNDRY? Du...Du....Dah... (Dramatic music)
Perhaps not everyone loathes laundry as much as I do. (as much as I did) I used to say many times a week, "I hate laundry. I hate folding clothes!"
It dawned on me in back in December that chanting, "I hate laundry. I hate folding clothes!" probably wasn't a healthy habit. I was reenforcing and entrenching a pathway of thinking that was unhelpful to me. The more I said it the more it became true.
My Grandma told a story of how that when she was a little girl she hated Ox Tail Soup. She had the poor judgment to say out loud how much she hated Ox Tail Soup when it was served to her one supper time. Her Daddy said, "There are staving children around the world who would be happy to eat Ox Tail Soup." She had a smart alec retort: "Well then send it to them!" Her Daddy made her say, "I love Ox Tail Soup." every time she took a bite. And every time Ox Tail Soup was served she had to say, "I love Ox Tail Soup." And Ox Tail Soup became her favorite soup. Right up to old age she said Ox Tail Soup was one of her favorites.
I experienced something similar with eating tomatoes. When I was a girl I hated tomatoes. They made my stomach turn. When that slimy gel surrounding the seeds in a tomato hit my tongue it made me gag and want to puke. They were acidic gross little fruits not meant for human consumption in my opinion. When I was 10 I decided that I was too old to be a picky eater anymore. I made a resolution to like tomatoes. My rule for myself was that every time tomatoes were available I would take one on my plate and eat it. Cherry tomatoes in salads and vegetable trays, sliced tomatoes on sandwiches and just as a side I now took every opportunity to eat. Before long I got accustomed to the texture and flavor and eventually learned to like tomatoes. Today I love tomatoes!
These stories testify that you can change your feelings towards things. Your mind is in control of your feelings.
The Psalms show this too. How often does the psalmist say,
"I will rejoice,"
"I will praise,"
"I will declare,"
"I will not fear,"
"I will offer,"
"I will sing,"
"I will arise,"
"I will be glad,"
"I will give thanks,"
"I will trust,"
"I will hope,"
.......?
There is no mention of being filled with joy prior to the declaration, "I will rejoice." The goodness of God is the only fact that precedes this rejoicing, or gladness, or praise, or trust, or hope. No feelings are mentioned, only a declaration of an action that the psalmist will take:
"I will rejoice."
"I will praise."
"I will declare."
"I will not fear."
"I will offer."
"I will sing."
"I will arise."
"I will be glad."
"I will give thanks."
"I will trust."
"I will hope."
I was in the midst of a smoldering depression one time when I read Psalm 28:7
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him."
And I thought, "I can't rejoice." "I can't praise." This verse is not for me now.
Then I read Psalm 70:4
"Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified."
I began to realize the ball was in my court. It was up to me to rejoice. It was up to me to change my feelings. One of the key factors to changing your feelings, based on these and other verses, seems to be changing your words.
Now we are getting back around to the laundry topic...... My feelings towards laundry needed to change. To rephrase that, I needed to change my feelings towards my job of laundry. I decided to start with the words coming out of my mouth. I made two rules: 1) no saying, "I hate laundry," and 2) everytime I fold a piece of laundry I would say, "I love folding (insert child's name) pants." "I love folding so and so's shirts." And so on and so forth.
Everytime I say, "I love folding Mr. In The Mid-west's t-shirts," or, "I love folding the baby's onesies," my heart warms a little. A surge of satisfaction with my own work wells up inside of me. I hear my family members names and I am reminded of how much I love each of them. I am forced to recognize what a rich life I am blessed to be living. Slowly, I am learning to like folding laundry. Forbidding spoken complaints and instead requiring spoken gratitude has led my feelings. I am changing my mind by changing my language. And that is the key to laundry for me. I have been able to conquer the laundry mountain and keep it in check since implementing this technique. This is a huge victory for me! Perhaps you will be intrigued to give this method a try in any areas that you are struggling to overcome.
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth:
and a word spoken in due season,
how good is it!
