Vacuum Cleaner Prayer

I’ve heard all sorts of “tricks” and ideas for turning a less-than-pleasurable household chore into one that’s more enjoyable. And for the last 15+ years since I first learned to vacuum, I’ve loathed the task. I’d rather clean the refrigerator, scour the kitchen floor by hand, AND scrub the toilets.

I’ve tried singing. Playing praise music. Memorizing Scripture while I worked. Asking God to help me enjoy the task. Thinking about how grateful I am for a house to vacuum and a vacuum cleaner that works (well…at least most of the time ). Nothing ever worked. I still hated the job and every single time I pulled out the vacuum cleaner my heart would sink.

This evening I tried something new, without even thinking about what I was doing. It just sort of happened, I was three-quarters of the way through the house before I realized that I was actually vacuuming and almost done and, not only was I not despising the task, but I was almost enjoying it! Wow!

So what exactly did I do?  For starters, I started praying before I opened the pantry door to pull out the vacuum cleaner. But I believe what really helped is that I wasn’t praying for myself, I was praying for a friend. When I plugged in the vacuum cleaner my thoughts weren’t on me…they were on someone else.

What a simple concept! Why did it take me this long to discover that I could put it into practice while vacuuming? That I’ll never know, but I’m so glad I’ve realized it now! The next time I need to pull out the vacuum cleaner you can be certain I’ll be praying for someone else!

“The trouble with you, Anne, is that you’re thinking too much about yourself. You should just think of Mrs. Allan and what would be nicest and most agreeable for her,” said Marilla, hitting for once in her life on a very sound and pithy piece of advice.

Holiday Traditions

There is a special holiday issue of A Lady in Waiting currently in the works. This issue will be in .pdf format for subscribers to download from the website. Because it’s not in print, we’re not limited to the typical 16-page publication we publish, and can include as much content as we have available.

One of the sections we’d like to include in this issue is a feature on holiday traditions. Thanksgiving, Sukkot, Hannukah, and Christmas traditions will all be accepted for consideration. If you’d like to share one or more of your family traditions with the rest of our readers, just send us a note via the website contact form. Be sure to include the tradition, your name as you’d like it to appear in the magazine, and your e-mail address (e-mail addresses will not be published).
We still also need a Titus Two Letter from an “older woman” who would be willing to write a letter to the younger women, fitting with our holiday theme. And we  still need an article specifically about Thanksgiving.

~Rebekah