Dishes and Joy

 Yes, dishes.  Of all the things I could blog about, dishes is the chosen topic this time around.  Stick around and you'll see why. :)

 The other as I was talking/chatting with a friend dishes came up in conversation. 
 Now, doing dishes doesn't seem to be a favorite task with most.  I've never really given it much thought.  Personally I like doing dishes. I could (and do) do dishes all day.  Granted, it would be very nice to get other things done too... but doing dishes is still something that I enjoy most of the time. 
 But, in this conversation I was being my typical nutty self, and went all goofy about getting to stay home and do dishes instead of having to to go fishing.  And the thing he said in response really struck me, and I've been thinking, I mean really thinking about it ever since.  

"Ha. Never seen anyone so happy to do dishes. ;-)" That got me to thinking. Why? Why don't we get excited about doing dishes?

There are a score of reasons for not liking to do dishes.... They take longer than anyone has time for. Dishes is a never ending job, you have to do it multiple times a day, everyday for life. There are so many other, important things to do, there's just not time to do dishes.

Dishes. Something we all use daily, has become a drudgery.

Why?

As children of the King, aren't we to be rejoicing? Aren't we to be cheerful workers? God gave us the ability to work, and He gave us the work to do; why do we allow it to annoy us? Why do we make it a drudgery?

 There is so much good to doing dishes.

I'm sure we could all write up a nearly endless list of reasons why dishes are a pain to do... but how many of us could write up a list of equal size about why dishes are enjoyable?

To me (anymore, as it didn't used to be this way) doing dishes is a joy. You know what it means to have a sink full of dirty dishes?! You know what a blessing dirty dishes are?! Dirty dishes are such a blessing! I want never to be out of dishes to do.

Now, before you all get to thinking that I have completely lost any sanity I might have had left...

Here's how dirty dishes are a blessing...

1) Dirty dishes means that God is making provision for you.
2) Dirty dishes means that God has blessed you with people to serve.
3) Dirty dishes means you have companions. The more dishes there are the more people you have around (usually)
4) Dirty dishes means you have time to spend in prayer and thanksgiving.
5) Dirty dishes means you aren't idle.
6) Dirty dishes means you have opportunity to practice cheerfulness and serving.
7) Dirty dishes means you have opportunity to practice housekeeping skills.
8) Dirty dishes (usually) means you've brought pleasure to someone.

 Need I go on? Or do you get my point?

Have you ever thought about just how important dishes are?  
I know most of us (my readers and I) want to be reformers. Have you thought of the importance of dishes in the reformation effort? Why, if someone doesn't do the dishes, then there aren't clean ones to use the next time around, which eventually results in starving people, and therefore no reformers... guess doing dishes is a pretty important task, huh?

Okay, so maybe that is a little exaggerated... but not so much when you think about it...

If having clean dishes is that important, and dishes don't do themselves... I guess that would make the person that washes them fairly important too, would it not?

You see, my point here is that we have to choose to enjoy our work. Every little task is important in the work we are doing. No job is too small. Each plays a special part in the reformation effort, and who are we to shun any one of them?

I find if I'm getting tired of doing dishes, I start thinking about how miserable life would be if I had no family to do dishes for. If you choose to look for the good in something, it is far more enjoyable. Then, as children of the King, we go around rejoicing as His children should.

You see, I get very down seeing others around me going on mission trips, getting married, starting churches, going to college, working a million and one jobs... and what do I do? 

I stay home... and do... dishes.

But! Someone has to do dishes! Someone has to do the "small" "unimportant" jobs... and really, they aren't "unimportant". They are just as needed as anything else.

So, while other serve their Lord going on mission trips, or ministering at work, or going to college, or whatever. I will serve my Lord at the sink. I will stand at my post, and joyfully serve Christ, through serving others in doing dishes.

'Tis glorious to be "chief cook and bottle washer", and by God's grace I will do it to the best of my ability, and praise Him all the while. :D


Joyfully serving the Father,
Hallie