HAVE YOU EVER HAD A CHALLENGE?
SEE: there truly are stupid and irritating questions…

 

In this Joy Story you will see an unusual challenge; a challenge that was extremely time-consuming, taking a lot of physical effort as well, and a challenge that will hopefully never happen again!

Selah.

My prayer for you all today is: that you see mistakes totally different than sins; that you don’t let the devil win. Do not be aggravated – be victorious because peace is the better choice!

 

Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

 

It all started with my husband. He was 100% right! And I’m a good wife, big enough to admit when my husband has a better idea than I do and tell hm so!

You see, once upon a time, and many times after once upon a time, I left facial tissue in my pants pocket. How many of you have done this same thing? I have done it more times than I care to remember: and every time I have done it, it’s been a mess, with some of the messes bigger than others… Never mind that I check my pant pockets each time for lipstick, Scripture notes, doggie treats and tissues… I tell you, I thought I did each and every time: and this last time I remember I had checked them. I really had! I had a prompting, however, to check my pockets later again right before I threw them in the wash – which I discounted: and guess what? I should not have… Yes! I had tissue in my pocket!

Now: let me tell you why it was the biggest tissue mess in the history of The Ann Turner Laundry Stories: my dryer was out on this once upon a time story and I was hanging everything downstairs all over the place. It was wonderful how many things I could hang up downstairs in our rec room and not see all this laundry upstairs because this clothes-hanging due to a dead dryer went on and on. Some things would have to go in the rec room bathroom and the upstairs bathroom; but mainly all the clothes were in the rec room for days on end and as it turned out, more than a month! Wet clothes being hung, dry clothes being collected individually rather than in one large, warm ball gathered and going up to be put away in their respective places.

It truly was for more than thirty (and probably it was thirty-one) days of unloading wet and heavy clothes, putting them into a laundry basket, taking them over to carpet ball game (think summer Bible camp), choosing appropriate coat hangers (some were larger so I could hang more little things on them), setting up the clothes in the most efficient way and checking on them the next morning, later in the day, and sometimes the morning after to see if they were truly dry. Some items would stay in the rec room a full day and half.

I got it down to a science. I do like challenges and I love victories in challenges. I especially loved my attitude about the whole thing…  I made it a victory! I chose this right at the beginning. I got more exercise going up and down those steps, a whole lot more, carrying up laundry much more frequently (I’d also wash more often to keep on top of it.)  It was so much exercise that most of that time I truly was not up to using my treadmill because my legs couldn’t handle more action! No guilt here!

The day came when the very nice and young repairman who had been at my home before was here to assist me once again. At his first repair trip (during the warm weather) we had talked about his dog and mine because Tina (our Terrier rescued) was barking at him… maybe we had Rocky and Riley (our pugs) that first time, don’t remember anymore. This last time he and another guy came to my rescue; or so they tried, but they could not. The dryer was fighting them as well. They next time they had to order a part or parts. My young friend felt badly, making the comment because Thanksgiving was coming up in about three weeks. Certainly I’d have it fixed by then, or so I confidentially thought. (Thinking about it now, it was about six weeks I had a non-functioning, fairly new, high tech dryer.)

Selah.

Patience and perseverance are great qualities. Christ has them and I do also (I do, for the most part.) Do you know what? I’ll tell you. My husband had a struggle with the warranty which I shall not get into. Suffice it to say that this time an older man from a different company came…  He was great too. He came to our front door. There’s a small note on it to make deliveries to the side door. He joked about him delivering himself to the side door. I liked him right away! Well this nice older man couldn’t help me on this once upon a time either. He, too, needed to order a part! (Remember: two companies; three different guys with a total of four visits in all and over a six-week period.)

It’s all a blur, but I think it took three weeks for that part to come…

You know that saying,” You “laugh so you don’t cry?” Not so, at least not for me. And I don’t make lemonade either (don’t like it.) Instead, I chose my options, I chose the best one, I chose to be kind and appreciative to three men who were trying to help me and could only do so much. I’d much rather do all this hang-drying and stair-climbing than go to the laundromat. I don’t like those places…

Selah.

Well, that highly important part to my dryer did come. It did get fixed the last time my repairman came. I was justifiably apprehensive about it this time… By the way, did I mention to you that Duane put up an outside clothes line several times in the warm weather long before this extended dead dryer time? Sometime, I’ll have to tell you about a big black bug I had to kill…

Certainly it was at least a month of a broken dryer. Doing laundry daily was my plan to keep on top of it. Do you know that cotton underwear takes a long time to dry? And towels, too, of course. My precious Russian Blue cat, Pewter, did have a whale of a time playing in the tents I made over the ping pong table and carpet ball. Kitties love tents! Now I keep an old blanket on the carpet ball for her to still play with. I move it also to different areas to keep the fun up! When she and Tina both go to the rec room when I normally use my treadmill, Pewter always heads for her tent first. So cute!

I toted dry laundry upstairs, and toted and toted and toted.. I spread out undies, bath towels, hand towels, socks, potholders, sheets, cleaning rags, jeans, tops, and everything we needed weekly for clean clothes. I tell you what else: blankets that don’t go into a dryer keep a really pretty smell!

BUT ON ONE PARTICULAR laundry day once upon a time, I left that tissue in my pocket…  You know, that time I had a prompting to check my pants again – I knew that I checked them – again. Should have listened… Should have done it…

I learned an interesting fact that I didn’t think would be. Tissues stuck to clothes from the washer when hung to air dry never want to leave!!!  They don’t want to be shaken off; trying to pick them off is a complete waste of time! There’s so much! These wet and clingy tissues didn’t come off in the dryer. It was broken. It was broken for over a month. I had to air-dry my clothes. They didn’t come off when the clothes were wet and they didn’t come off when the clothes were dry. No. When then undies, bath towels, hand towels, socks, potholders, sheets, cleaning rags, jeans, tops, and everything we needed weekly for clean clothes were ready to be tucked away, folded, hung, stuffed in a cupboard – they went to their dry houses full of dry and clingy clean tissues.

Funny story! Who would have thought? I never would have.

Eventually my dryer got fixed – shortly after Christmas. I didn’t complain about the inconvenience. We have a lot of doggie beds and Duane went to the laundromat once for just a few big things like that. I didn’t complain about taking down about thirty-five coat hangers (I should have counted them) or grumble when they got hooked together. I didn’t complain about the crunchy towels (those actually were pretty fun after a while!) I was a good sport and grateful my washing machine was helping me!

But the tissues on my undies, bath towels, hand towels, socks, potholders, sheets, cleaning rags, jeans, tops, and everything we needed weekly for clean clothes bugged me. This bugged me a lot; but not enough to change my ways. I am not lazy. I do check my pockets (but not Duane’s – after all, I’m not his mama) and it should not have happened but it did…

Selah.

Beside my great and almost perfect attitude (only tissue anger here) another really, really good thing came from this unusual, unexpected and definitely unwanted experience.

Duane has forbidden me to keep tissue in my pocket!

Women: don’t get your dander up; keep reading. I chose to thank God for all my abilities to handle this situation. I am sixty-five and my legs work fine! My heart can move and groove and my eyes are blue and perfectly clear! I had no reason to be bitter because I am not stupid; I have the mind of Christ.

Alleluia!

Now ladies, don’t get your undies in a bunch. Without a doubt I am a free moral agent and Duane is not my daddy. However, I chose to know he is right. I chose to do the easier thing and learn how to keep tissues without keeping them in my pocket, thereby, not keeping in the washer; thereby, not keeping them in the dryer, and not keeping them outside of my clothes…

Funny thing is, now I only and always keep my lipstick, Scripture notes, and doggie treats in two out of four of my pockets and I find myself still checking each and every one, thinking if there is any tissue in my now abandoned pocket!

 

LIFE IS GOOD.

Selah!

 

 

SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS FOR THIS JOY STORIES:

 

Romans 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

 

Nehemiah 8:10
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

 

Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.