Dirty Sheets


I can’t remember the last time I changed my sheets. Sorry to burst your bubble of sanitation, but it’s true. Many weeks, just getting the family’s clothes cleaned is an Olympic worthy event. Sheets are often the last thing on my mind to get clean. “Nasty!” you say. “Doesn’t she know that will help them to not get sick as often?!” you say. “There has to be some time to work out for cleaning them! I mean, she is writing right now?!” you say. I know. Those thoughts plague me too. But most days, my head is too tired. My head is content to just have a bed. No matter if it’s clean. Most days, I just don’t have the mental energy to think about how I am going to rearrange my schedule to clean the sheets. If they get done, they get done. Too me, they are neutral in the span of eternity. I’m pretty sure that Jesus wouldn’t mind laying his scarred head on my dirty sheets if he needed a place to stay. I’m sure he would see much more behind those dirty sheets than a lack of education about germs, or a complete disregard for family care. I’m pretty sure he would look past the surface of germs and see an exhausted mama. A mom who works 10 hours a week just to supplement a child’s grocery bill because of a special diet. A mom who chose not to clean the sheets but instead chose to take a nap so that she wouldn’t snap at her kids when they got home from school. A mom who is making sure that her child hasn’t learned how to open doors and unknowingly walked out into the world with no sense of danger or sense of a need to return. A mom who has a fiery toddler that loves the sensation of making an absolute disaster of mommy’s lotion.

I have no doubt that people have looked into our life and assumed a lack of education or willful disregard for what is a best practice. On more than one occasion I have had people educate me on doing my hair or keeping the house clean. Yes, I grew up with a loving mother who taught me how to do those things. No, I do not choose to live this way. I live this way to survive many days. If it’s a choice between clean sheets and self-care, I pick self-care.

So, next time you see someone doing things that may not be your version of “best,” maybe you should give some grace. Maybe that mom who has her tired kids at the grocery store at 10pm isn’t ignoring her child’s need for sleep. Maybe she has to make a choice between having food for them or getting them a good night’s sleep because she works 60 hours/week to put a roof over their head. Maybe she is just trying to survive.


We all need grace and we all need a helping hand. 

Photo taken from https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cotton-sheets/
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