From: The Pastor’s Heart
To: You
Title: “At The LAUNDRY Mat ”
This morning my mind went back to the days of my youth when my mother would
drop me off at the local laundry mat to wash several loads of clothes for the family. It, by
no means, was an optimum way for this young pre-teen to spend a summer day, but it’s
just one of the things I was expected to do from time to time. I remember vividly the
number of trips it took going back and forth to the car to bring several bags of dirty clothes
in before watching mom head back to the house to fix her client’s hair. Once inside, my
first job was to separate the clothes into their respective piles and then place them one by
one into the washing machine. We didn’t have cell phones, iPads, or laptops back then so
it was either you read a book, or made a up game to pass the time while the clothes
circled round and round in the wash.
One of the games I’d create was imagining myself as a miniature astronaut who
would zoom around in a tiny rocket ship inside the washing machine. I would see myself
working very hard to avoid being pummeled by clothes flying all about me. As I thought
about that this morning it made me think about how we have to work hard to make sure
that we steer clear of the filthy temptations and attacks the enemy hurls at us every day.
Life’s pressures and unforeseen challenges can come upon us without warning and if not
always alert, we can be forced into an action or reaction that’s out of our character.
Remember the story in the gospels about a father who showed up at a gathering
where the disciples of Jesus were meeting? The father brought his son to them who had
been possessed with an evil spirit. He tried desperately to get the disciples to cast away the
contrary spirit from the boy’s life, but they could not because they had not been fasting
and praying. Jesus called His disciples a ‘faithless generation’ and asked them, “How long
shall I stay with you?” He was clearly upset that men who He’d trained to be ready at all
times, were not prepared or ready to help a family in need.
I would watch the clothes in the machine being tossed around and around and
around and realized that they had to be juggled, shuffled and submerged in soap and
water in order to be separated from the dirt that was resting on them. I realize that we too
will have to endure life’s mayhem’s and obstructions more times than we’d like, but that’s
because God’s working with us to remove the dirt on us. He allows the challenges of life
to come before us but reminds us that if we follow and obey His word, we will be
victorious in the end.
You may be going through in this season and feeling like you’re been unjustly
tossed around, but I ask you to look again and try and see God’s purpose for this
challenge. It just may be that He’s got you at ‘The Laundry Mat’ running you through the
wash’ so you’ll come out squeaky clean on the other side. – Hang in there!
EVERYTHING WE DO MOVING FORWARD WILL BE INTENTIONAL AND DRIVEN WITH
PURPOSE TO REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT!
NOTHING WILL BE DONE WITH ENERGY LESS THAN OUR BEST AND EFFORT BELOW
OUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL.
OUR SERVICE IS LOCAL, BUT OUR REACH IS GLOBAL – SO WE CANNOT REDUCE OUR
PRESENTATION DOWN TO WHAT’S CONVENIENT, BUT RATHER WE MUST RAISE IT TO
THAT WHICH IS EXPLOSIVE!
Get ready for major change that’s coming systematically, intellectually, purposefully, and
professionally. Nothing we do moving forward will be done haphazardly, sloppily, poorly,
or carnally.
We Are the LIGHT!
Sincerely,
Pastor J.E. Chandler, Sr.
(CEO/Pastor of MLCM)
