Lessons from Laundry

I was doing laundry today and something hit me.  It was out of no where, and it was wonderful.  There is love in death.  I believe that when I die, then in an instant, my soul will go to the same place my soon resides now; I will be completley gone from this world and only a shell made of dust will remain.  None-the-less, the act of death has a tremendous inpact in every way on the people involved in the deceased's life.

Well what the laundry taught me about death and life was the beauty of how intertwinded life and death are.  I was hanging up my clothes to dry on a drying rack, and I was amazed how many pairs of socks and underwear, and other small articles of clothing took up space compared to the relativley small amount of space on the rack that the larger clothing items took up.  It made me realize the importance of small things in our lives, and how often we take them for granted.  Can you imagine your wardrobe without underwear or socks?  Pretty ridiculous and non-functional if you ask me.

In the same way the "little" things in other areas of our life are taken for granted, until we loose them.  This is how there is the possibility for there to be love in death.  Link's death is making me realize just how much I really love everyone in my life, how precious the people in my life are.  I can not imagine my life without the residents in the nursing home I provide care for; every single elderly person I have cared for has impacted my personal life in a positive way, even in their death.  I can not imagine my life without my children, because more than anything in life, they are most precious to me.  Life without my husband, my brother, my mother, co-workers, and cat----everything God has blessed me with---would not be anywhere near as enjoyable as it is now without the personalities they were given.

I truly love these people--and my cat--for who they are.  I would not ask them to be anyone other than themselves, with all their flaws; because if I did that, the some part of the beauty and wonder in my life would be gone forever.  Yes, there are times when I complain that I wish someone would change someone in their personality, but I never truly mean it (unless that factor brings harm to themselves or others).

Even the guy that lived on my couch for a year, is important.  This man annoyed every fiber of my being 90% of the time he was here.  He had some gross habits, and did not really practice the best hygiene.  When he finally stopped living with us, I swore that I would never, never, NEVER let him live with us ever again.  Today I realized that if he truly needed somewhere to go, and had absolutley no where else he could go, I would not be able to turn him away.

So when remember the little things about the loved ones that have passed on, you start to notice the little things about other people that you love.  Suddenly, your world becomes beautiful beyond measure, because you finally start to realize how much love you actually have in your life.  You finally realize how much God has blessed you.  That is what the laundry taught me today.