Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Ricardo Gomez on Unsplash

We’re finally home after almost a month of travel. The two givens after so much time away from home are:

1. Complete exhaustion with a desire to sleep in my own bed.
2. Piles of dirty laundry.

Once again, I stayed awake for 24 hours because, for some reason, I can’t sleep on planes. Getting home meant my bed was calling me.

So was the laundry.

We had several people stay in our home while we were away; it worked because we’ve got the space, and the need was there. We also have family coming to stay with us for several days, so I needed to change the beds, which meant laundering sheets.

I stared at the laundry basket, knowing my body was screaming for sleep, but the pile seemed to be procreating more laundry before my eyes.

So I put in a load. Then I foolishly stayed up to put it in the dryer.

Dirty laundry is part of life. With six kids, all playing soccer, I know what it’s like to have stinky clothes needing to be cleaned. There were times when my laundry room smelled like foul feet and smelly sweat. And if the weather wasn’t cooperating, as is often the case in Florida, there was the added misery of mud on the clothes. Don’t even get me started on the socks.

The thing is, there is never an end to doing laundry. You finish a load or five, and within twelve hours, the basket is full again.

Dirt is a part of life.

My mom had a saying she often used. “Don’t air your dirty laundry.” Growing up, I had no idea what she was talking about.

It has nothing to do with clothes.

Mom’s story was one focused on appearances; the need to look good was of utmost importance. The whole idea was not to let others see the mess of your life. Keep it hidden; it’s nobody else’s business.

This seems logical. Exposing our mess to others could bring shame and guilt into our lives; who wants that?

Hiding our hurts, brokenness, and messy emotions causes isolation. Solitude leaves us open to negative thoughts with no hope of encouragement. We are broken in community; we need to heal in community. Darkness can’t heal; it causes infection.

King David hurt many when he chose not to be with his troops one spring. Instead, he wandered onto his roof, saw a beautiful woman bathing, and took her as his own. She was married to one of his faithful soldiers. When she became pregnant, he tried to fix the situation by having her husband come back to be with her. But Uriah was faithful to his king, and he refused the time with his wife while his men were in battle.

David told his general to put Uriah at the front line and draw back, so he’d be certain to be killed.

He was. David would experience the consequences of his bad judgment, but he dealt with it before God,

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love. Because of Your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sins.” Psalm 51:1-2

Hiding from what we’ve done won’t excuse us from the consequences of wrongdoing. Admitting our mistakes to God gives us a path to forgiveness. “But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL wickedness.” 1 John 1:9

Telling God of our wrongdoings releases the grip shame and guilt have on our lives. He doesn’t lay guilt on those He loves. Admitting what we’ve done wrong is actually the most freeing thing we can do.

Freedom from the embarrassment of bad choices comes from knowing total forgiveness in Jesus.

That’s healthy “airing”.