So God Made a Mother is Here! 🎉

Over the past six years I have done 1,872 loads of laundry. Now, that is an estimate, but a pretty accurate one by my account. I. HATE. LAUNDRY. Seriously, why is the job never done?! Why do these people have to wear so many clothes? And don’t get me started on socks. I have literally thrown away baskets full of single socks because their match has been lost in the great abyss that consumes all socks (but only one in each pair!). This hatred is not good for me, and it isn’t good for my family. So I set out to find ways to praise Jesus while doing laundry. Knowing when I praise Him, I cannot be down or negative because it is Him that gives me Joy!

Sing a praise song while gathering the dirty laundry.

I don’t know how gathering dirty clothes works in your home, but in my home, each room, and therefore person, has his/ her own laundry basket. The small people are not yet to the age they can do their own laundry, so the task is solely on me. I get to venture into each child’s room and scoop up their baskets all while trying not to step on Lego’s or Elsa’s high heels despite not being able to see my feet! This is no easy task. But to lighten my mood, and warn the children Momma’s coming for laundry, I begin to sing my favorite praise song. It’s usually whichever one happens to be in my head at the moment. If the day has been especially trying, I’ll put my headphones in and crank it up. It always helps take the yuck out of the task, and trust me, with a four-year-old boy there is a lot of yuck when gathering the dirty clothes!

Ask for forgiveness of my sins, while treating stains.

Knowing Christ and walking with him means my sins are forgiven. Treating the ketchup, chocolate, or dirt stain, for me, is always hit or miss. Sometimes the clothes come out perfect, and other times I swear my washing machine adds stains! But this is not the case for God’s children. We are always forgiven, and His grace abounds. Taking this tedious and sometimes frustrating task, and using it as an opportunity to treat my soul with confession and repentance has been amazing for me and my relationship with my Lord.

Switching the laundry over.

This is my third most hated part of laundry. It took quite a bit to find Jesus in this task, but I did! This is when I pray for my eyes and heart to be more like His. I want to know if I need to make a switch in the way I feel about something or someone, or the way I view something or someone. This task is quick, but this exercise can be convicting and life changing!

Pulling the clothes out of the dryer.

This is my favorite part of laundry. Especially on the rare day that I catch the dryer warm (let’s be honest, this only happens after I’ve re-dried to avoid ironing!). I love the warm and snuggly clothes. I pray my faith and walk will be a comfort to others. That I will be the warm and snuggly place the down trodden and exhausted come to, and that I can be Jesus on Earth for them in that moment.

Folding!

This is the last step of laundry for me. Ha! I’m sitting here in my living room looking at a couch piled high of clean folded clothes waiting for the laundry-put-away-Fairy to come. Crazy girl, never shows up. While folding my family’s clothes, I pray for them. I pray for the baby’s teething while rolling his onesie. I pray for my daughter’s anxious heart while folding over her tutu. I pray for my son’s obedience while folding his footed pajamas. And I pray for my husband’s faith and resolve while laying out his shirts.

I’m so blessed to have these people, and the means by which to clothe them! What is your most dreaded chore, and what are some ways you can praise Jesus in them?

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Adrienne Barnes

Adrienne is a wife, and homeschooling momma to three crazy kids. She enjoys reality T.V., chocolate, coffee, and a well cooked meal. She is a freelance copywriter at Adrienne Nakohl Copywriting, and loves writing pieces that are humorous and inspirational. Her love language is physical touch and acts of service, so hugs and doing the dishes are a great way into her heart. To see more of her see http://adriennenakohl.com.

I Became a Widow at 37; God’s Grace Sustained My Young Family

In: Faith, Grief, Loss, Motherhood
Mom and young daughter at sunset

After my husband soared to Heaven eight years ago, my three daughters and I found ourselves on an intense grief journey. I never imagined being a widow at age 37 when my girls were just 2, 5, and 8 years old. Despite the heaviness of grief, I knew God was near. And I longed for my daughters to experience His comforting presence too. That’s how we started chasing God’s glory together. We started with a nightly rhythm of watching the sunset together. We would step out onto our back patio or pull over on the side of the road and pause...

Keep Reading

The Grace and Grief of Being a Medical Mama

In: Faith, Motherhood
Hospital bed and IV stand, black-and-white photo

Medical mama—this title and this view hit me. It hits me at different times and in different ways, but it hits me, hard.  Some days, I crumble with thankfulness that God has such a specific plan for my sweet, golden, middle daughter, that He would make ways where it feels there is no way.  There are other times when it hits me with anger and bitterness because I can’t figure out why, in a world full of medical interventions, this is our “fix.”  It hits me.  In the wee hours of another night in the hospital, it hits me that grace...

Keep Reading

I Buried My Heart with My Baby but God Brought Me Back to Life

In: Faith, Grief, Loss, Motherhood
Woman in a sweater standing outside looking at sunset

Recently, my world felt as if it were crashing around me. I was so angry I think my rage could have burned a small village. Unfortunately, that rage was directed at God though I knew that wasn’t what I needed to be directing toward Him. He owed me nothing then, and He owes me nothing now; however, my heart was shattered, and for a while, it seemed as if my faith was crumbling with it. I stopped going to church. I stopped praying. I stopped all positive feelings and allowed myself to succumb to the pain and the anger. When...

Keep Reading

Dear New Mom, God Is Only a Whisper Away

In: Baby, Faith, Motherhood
New mother holding baby on couch, eyes closed

While we were waiting to adopt, I would wake up in the middle of the night panicky. My mind would wander to the thought of suddenly having a baby. With groggy eyes and a cobwebbed mind, I would ask myself, “Could I get up right now to go soothe a crying baby?” And then the insecurities would flood me as I thought through the difficulty of dragging myself out of bed to give milk to a fussy newborn. I didn’t know if I could.  With each application sent to agencies and social workers, the possibility of adopting a baby became more...

Keep Reading

Dear Daughter, You Gave Me Purpose

In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother holding baby, color photo

Dear daughter, Before God knit you in my womb, I was wandering around aimlessly, searching for a purpose. I had changed my mind several times about what I wanted to do with my life. I felt so much pressure to figure out what I truly wanted. I rushed into career ideas, only to realize I wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of them. I started grad school, only to quit in three weeks. I was crushed and defeated. I begged God to show me His plan, to give me a purpose. I begged Him to give me something I...

Keep Reading

God Holds Her Every Step of the Way

In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother holding infant baby's feet, color photo

We were told she wouldn’t make it to 20 weeks. When she made it, we were told she wouldn’t survive to full-term. When she survived to full-term, we were told she wouldn’t grow properly. When she grew, she thrived. When she thrived, she confused the doctors. RELATED: Keep Fighting, Little Miracle When the doctors tried to find the science to explain away her defeating all the odds, I had the answers. God. Prayers. Miracles. At 10 weeks when I found out about her condition, I prayed. I gathered my prayer warriors, and we prayed. Ultrasound after ultrasound, the technician was...

Keep Reading

Your Marriage Can’t Sit in a Laundry Basket without Getting a Few Wrinkles

In: Faith, Marriage
Couple doing laundry in front of washing machine

Bring on the bottled scent of fresh mountain breeze and seaside lavender. I’ll happily perform the swivel dance of transferring clothes from washer to dryer. I’ll hang those darlings with delicate personalities to gently air dry. I don’t mind the doing part. I’ll do laundry ’til the cows come home. It’s the folding part that I tend to put off. The cows have come home and gone to pasture several times, and that basket of clothes is most likely still sitting there developing more wrinkles than a baby bulldog.  And don’t even get me started on ironing. Let’s just say...

Keep Reading

Overwhelmed Mama, Take a Moment to Sit at the Feet of Jesus

In: Faith, Motherhood
Woman sitting in hallway, black and white image

Mama friend, I know you’re exhausted. It feels like you have nothing left to give. You know you need to take a moment for yourself, but you don’t know how. I know it all feels endless—like it will never be any different. I know you long for a week, a day, or an hour to yourself but take this moment. Put the baby in the playpen. Tell the kids to play in their room. Sit down somewhere away from the dirty dishes in the sink and the pile of laundry that has been waiting to be folded for days. Step...

Keep Reading

The Ring Came from a Stranger from Heaven

In: Faith, Living
Large ring on woman's hand, color photo

This ring is not much to look at now—a well-worn piece of turquoise costume jewelry, its cheap metal revealing its quality and insignificant cost. But the value of this ring, “The Ring,” rivals that of my diamond and gold wedding band. It is priceless. For me, it is tangible proof of how an unseen God orchestrates events, circumstances, and people to remind me that miracles do happen and that He hears me—especially when I hurt. I happened upon this precious keepsake at a time in my life when things seemed to be falling apart and when I was feeling very sorry...

Keep Reading

A Mother’s Day Kintsugi Birdhouse: Beauty from Brokenness

In: Faith, Motherhood
Broken birdhouse lying beneath tree, color photo

Seated at the sunroom breakfast table, mouth full of Special K, I glance out the row of windows. A flutter of gray-blue against white paint catches my eye. I quickly swallow. “Y’all, a bird just went inside the bluebird house!” We all stand in a row, mimicking the windows. Yes, my sleepy morning eyes did not deceive me. Tail feathers were protruding from the circular opening. At last, a bird had found its way to this little white house with a tin roof nailed to a lone holly tree in the middle of our backyard. This was not the original...

Keep Reading