How Many is Too Many?

Almost a year ago, I came to the great conclusion that I had entirely too much laundry to do. I couldn't make everyone stop wearing clothes & I certainly couldn't stop washing them. I had to figure out a different solution.

So, a little bit before Logan turned 1, I started having Austin & Makenzie hang up their own clothes.

Of course this didn't go over quite as smoothly as I had hoped it would and their closets will never look the way they did when I hung up their clothes, but hey, it took a little work of of me.

Or so I thought.

I am always getting behind on washing clothes. Therefore, I am always behind on sorting them out. Therefore, the kids are always behind on putting them away.

Yet another vicious cycle.

Austin is decent at getting his clothes hung up, even though he needs to be reminded several times and shirts tend to be more wrinkled when he pulls them from his closet than before they went in.

Makenzie is another story all together. It never ceases to amaze me at her level of thinking. She changes clothes 5 times a day & doesn't even entertain the thought of hanging something back up when she has only worn it 10 minutes. No matter how many times she is reminded, there is ALWAYS a pile of clothes in her closet floor. No matter how many times she is reminded, there is ALWAYS dirty clothes among the clean ones. No matter how many times she is reminded, I ALWAYS have to say it again.

This gets so old. I DREAD even walking into her room.

But, I went in to help, again.

Before I even began, I made her get all the clothes out of her closet floor & anything that magically appeared under her bed.

Lord have mercy. This is what that amounted to!

"How many times do I have to tell you?" "How many times do we have to go through this?" "Do you remember that the last time I promised you a spanking?"

Halfway through her pile, while I was wondering if things would ever change, I was thinking on "how many times?". I was reminded of another incident where "how many times?" was asked of another man.

Matthew 18:21-21 "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

Have I really went over the laundry issue 490 times? Do I really have to?

That made me wonder if this was a hidden message. Does Jesus only agree to forgive our sins 490 times? Or maybe He will forgive the same sin that many times?

How close am I to that number? Or have I gone WAY passed that many?

I don't know about that part, but I do know that His grace & forgiveness is far more than we deserve.