If I Didn’t Have a Woman, I Wouldn’t Have Curtains

Recently, out of the blue, my wife requested a new clothesline. I listened, acted, and promptly built one. She was so pleased and showed her excitement with a joyful smile. I was blessed at least ten-fold that day and the benefits continue to multiply. As a bonus, she took over the family laundry duty, and I was unanimously released from that assignment with a vote of thanks.

She was on fire with a purpose in mind. Miracles, I never dreamed possible, began to appear. The whites and my Sunday shirts are now white and stains are disappearing. Family members are making genuine remarks like, “My clothes are so clean. They smell better. How did you get that dirty spot removed that has been on my shirt for months? Dad, you don’t do the laundry anymore, do you?”

My amazing miraculous laundry lady with a plan has all our clothes clean, folded, and put away. The dirty laundry bins are empty, vacuumed, and dirt free. Things are in order and everything is done … I thought. She has now started washing rugs and curtains. I must admit and acknowledge her as one awesome angel with a mission!

Recently, after a full day, we sat on our couch together just talking, joking, playing, laughing, and enjoying some time together. During the course of the conversation, she thanked me for helping her with the clothesline and expressed the delight and happiness she has found in it. I thanked her for making our lives at least three shades brighter and expressed my love for one good woman.

She laid her head on my shoulder and whispered something like, “I just love washing, cleaning, and using my wonderful clothesline . . . .  “John, do you think you would have ever thought to wash the curtains?” We both broke out in laughter and chuckled for some time, knowing full well it would likely take at least a lifetime for me to notice the curtains and conclude washing was needed. I answered, “If I didn’t have a woman, I wouldn’t have curtains.”

That conversation was hilarious indeed (at least for us in the moment), but it caused me to seriously consider and ponder the question: If I didn’t have a woman, I wouldn’t have ______________?  To fill in the blank is huge, awe-inspiring, and tremendous, yet very humbling and crushing. It’s all encompassing, absolutely essential, and eternal. “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 11:11

I never dreamed the act of building a clothesline would bring such an overwhelming return.