John McDargh

KM Anderson Prayers from the Pews - March 17, 2019
POSP Theme, "The Sanctuary Between Us"

Laundry Prayer

 

A woman stands in her sunny kitchen, sorting baskets of laundry.

A few blocks away, another woman has forsworn the sight of the sun,
To live in a basement
So she can rasie her children. This means that she can no longer do her family's laundry
herself, as she'd like to.

Who among us would not willingly forego the light of the sun for a lifetime
If it meant keeping our children safely with us?

"Goodbye to the sunshine
Goodbye to the dew
Goodbye to the flowers..."

Dear Lord Jesus
Accept thou this, the work of my hands
The work of this thy servant
This laundry
These two tiny, pink socks I have managed not to lose in the wash.

Accept thou this laundry
let it comfort and adorn thy holy feet

In gratitude from one who is priviledged to walk freely beneath the life-giving sun
At least for now

In aid and in honor of a woman who has risked absolutely everything
To be able to hold her child in a safe place one more day.

Accept thou, O Lord, this washload
Which the woman would complete for herself and for her family, if she could
Except that she has banished herelf below ground

Not to see the sun
Not to feel the breeze
Not to smell the rain-soaked sidewalk.

The woman in the basement waits. For now, her hands braid a small child's hair.