On a regular day – a day filled with a long day at work, followed by making sure my children were fed, did homework, loved and ready for bed – I struggled to get the laundry done. I was just over it. The mundane. The every day chores. The keeping up with it all. Why did I do this every day? Wasn’t there a better way? Why are we called to feel like housekeepers for those that live in our house?
As I folded yet another pair of pants and matched another pair of socks, something fell to the floor and caught my eye. I bent down and found an old piece of paper or a receipt that had been in my husband’s pocket. Well, nothing new here, I thought, probably saying a few choice words I shouldn’t. As usual, I sighed, he didn’t empty his pockets. I envisioned more washed and torn paper all over the clean, dry clothes – and probably a few old Kleenexes too. Come on moms – you’re with me on this one. There’s nothing worse than a tissue going through the wash and dryer and ending up all. over. the clothes.
I picked up the heavily washed paper and looked closer – and stopped. This one was different. This one was shaped like a heart. A reminder. A whisper.
It was the reminder I needed. That heart helped me that day – and every day since. God calls us to love our family and serve each other. While many days I feel what I do is meaningless, this heart reminds me that it’s not. I’m serving my boys, my husband. I’m helping to keep our family moving forward. I’m giving of myself. I’m giving love.
I still have that balled up paper heart. I keep it on my jewelry stand so that I see it every morning and every night. It’s my reminder to find the joy, the laughter, the good in every day life. Life is not meant to have every moment be an extraordinary moment. It’s meant to be extraordinary by finding the special in the every day moments.
Do I still complain about laundry or scrubbing toilets? Yes, yes I do. But I do it with a smile – knowing that it’s a small way to show love to my family. Knowing that I can find the joy and surprise in the every day.
Powers Tanis Art 