When You Don't Know What to Do, Do the Dishes

 

The Dishes 

               Oh, The Dishes.

Never-Ending,

Never-Failing.

    Eternal.  

                Whether you eat at a restaurant or get takeout, or make your own food at home…someone, somewhere, is going to HAVE to do The Dishes.

                In your own home, if you make an honest effort to make the majority of your family’s food, this can be frustrating, especially when you are surrounded by tiny children who aren’t quite old enough to help with The Dishes, but are very good at making more dirty dishes.    

                Sometimes I have felt that I was drowning in dishes. Even as I write this, the sink is full of dishes. Again.

There are Legos on the kitchen island and the remnants of my children's morning snack. 

              

  It can be dismaying, and even depressing. And yet, there is something consistent about The Dishes that I find oddly comforting, especially in these…interesting…times. In the past year, as my children have been stuck at home, as all our plans were cancelled over and over and over again, there were times when I didn’t quite know what to do with myself.

This year I’ve been afraid of so many things- losing the people I love to sickness, the long-term impact the closures will have on the children and youth of this generation, losing our country to evil people who would remake it in their own image, losing relationships, and at times I’ve even feared Civil War.

It has felt as if the entire world was falling apart and I have deeply feared that I was falling into a deep dark hole from which I would never return.  But in the midst of it, when I cried out to the Lord, and said, “Oh, Lord, what can I do?” I realized I could still do The Dishes.

And I determined that whoever is left alive after all this chaos, assuming that I am alive, and my house still stands, my job will be to get up and to make them breakfast. And then to do The Dishes. The Dishes are something that cannot be taken away from me by a virus, or by the county, or by the state government.      

I have a system for the way I do the dishes. It must all be done in a special order. Plates and spoons first. Then small bowls and forks. Then cups and knives. Then dry everything because the drainer is already full. Then the big stuff- the mixing bowls, crock pot, the instant pot, the baking sheets; and, finally, whatever is left on the counter.

Several years ago, my Grandma Bennett lived with my parents for a year waiting on houses to sell and escrows to close. It was a frustrating year for her, but during that year - The Dishes were her job. She felt it was her way to contribute, and truly, when you get someone in your household who does The Dishes every meal, every day, especially a woman as special as my grandmother….you weep when that person leaves. My grandmother found value in it, and at an age where she was less and less able to do many of the things she used to do, she could still contribute; The Dishes were Her Job. (It is something to remember if you are ever a long-term house-guest. It will help if you do The Dishes; especially if you do them well.)   

So I do them every day and I try to fully empty the sink at least once a day. On his days off, my husband does them (It is truly romantic; I am never more attracted to my husband than when he is doing The Dishes!)

There is a deeply spiritual aspect to doing The Dishes. One Bible Verse that comes to mind is:

*Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless, in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.

And of course, there is Colossians 3:17, which states, And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The Word of God is clear- even The Dishes should be done without grumbling (I need to work on this one), with thankfulness, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 My personal darkness and fears aside, when I finally clean the kitchen every day and finally, there are no more dirty dishes, I feel just a little bit better about the world, just a little more in control.  

The Dishes are Done- For Now. 

The World Feels Better when the Kitchen is Clean. 

I am supremely thankful for the gift that is The Dishes.

And now it is time to start on The Laundry.