God as the Laundry Woman

Those in our Bible on Location Bible study have just finished our first week. The location and reflection on Day 3 generated the most discussion and seemed to really resonate with people, so I wanted to share it with you all.

The title of this post did not come from me, but from one of our study group who remarked, “I’ve never thought of God as a laundry woman, but that’s exactly who she is.” (And yes, we did reflect on the gender bias of the assumption that we trust women to turn out better laundry than men.)

God is many, many things to us at different times in our life. Perhaps this is a time in your journey where you could really use a laundry woman.

Place: Laundry Room

Scripture:Psalm 51:7-9

Reflection: I am well versed in various methods of getting stains out of my clothes, because I am a stainer of clothes. I have been all my life. It doesn’t help that some of my favorite foods–Mexican, Thai, Italian–are the most stain-iest of all the foods.

Because I have had so much experience, I am confident in my stain-fighting ability.  On those occasions when my husband or daughter is dismayed because they have spilled something on a favorite sweater or shirt, I am a total hero. Not only do I not worry about the stains, I quickly dispel of the stains and return the like-new clothing (okay, this often doesn’t happen right away, but definitely within a week of a stain being brought to my attention).  Yes, there have been failures, but I have almost always been able cover the uncleanse-able stain with a well-placed, whimsical patch.

Remember a time that you lost the battle with a clothing stain. Was it food? Grease? Grass? Did you cover the stain, keep wearing it anyway or toss the article of clothing?

What stain are you letting soak in to your heart right now? What sin and/or guilt is staining your soul?

Ask God to forgive that sin and wipe away your guilt and sin.

Do you feel clean?

If not, what is keeping from you believing in God’s promise of forgiveness through Jesus Christ? Do you really believe that you can create a stain that God cannot remove? Where on earth would you come by such power?

Go forth from the laundry room feeling as clean and new as sheets fresh from the dryer. 


If you’d like to get a heads-up the next time we start this or any other Bible study, click below, and we’ll let you know.

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