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A magical way to get rid of wrinkles...

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By design#860

I don’t like wrinkles. Lucky for me, my clothes dryer has a nice feature on it called wrinkle prevent. Once the original drying cycle is complete and the dryer stops drying, the wrinkle prevent feature kicks on. This feature is intended to prevent wrinkles from settling into the clothing. Within a few moments, the dryer powers up again and tosses the clothing inside around and around with the goal to keep them wrinkle-free. The dryer continues this intermittent process for a very long time.

 
The magical intent of this feature helps me when I know I won’t have the chance to empty the dryer once the cycle is complete. It’s a feature I use often. However, while this feature is really nice, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t completely deliver on its promise. Some wrinkles still happen. Perhaps not as badly as they could if left sitting in a heap for hours, but still, they are there.

I can choose to live with the wrinkles or try to smooth them out. One takes work, the other not so much. It gives me a tiny bit of satisfaction to think that, in a way, I'm conquering my perfectionist tendencies. I convince myself that a few wrinkles won't kill me. Ha!
 
Growing up the daughter of a tailor, it was instilled in me to care for my garments. It was unheard of to wear wrinkled clothes. Taking the time to press the wrinkles out of my clothing was part of my growing up process. 

When I finally empty the dryer, I make it a point to inspect the way the clothes look. How much work will I have to do to take care of the wrinkles? Do I even want to? Yes, I do. I notice the wrinkles, take out  my iron and begin the work of pressing my garments. It is a satisfying process to my see my clothes transform with a little steam.
 
I have a wrinkle prevent feature in my life as well. Like clothing tumbling around in a drying cycle, I have emotions and thoughts that get tossed around in my psyche. I let them cycle around and around, hoping the "wrinkles" might magically disappear. They don’t. Like the garments from the dryer that still have wrinkles, my life is the same. And some work needs to be done. 
 
Do I want to take care of the wrinkles in my life? This question is important. It is only when I am honest with myself and tackle the issues spinning in my head that I can work on them. Otherwise, they work on me.

Am I paying attention? Do I want to inspect what’s going on? 
 
Not long ago, I struggled with an unsettling issue in my heart. I began to pay attention to what was going on. I asked God to help me, and He did. In His most gentle way, His message was clear and brought me to tears. My struggle centered around anger I was experiencing towards someone in my life.
 
When I asked God to show me what that emotion was all about, He pressed into to my past. In this space, He showed me how feeling rejected as a child surfaced in my present-day relationship. Wow! Talk about defining moments. The healing I received needed an important ingredient. It required that I NOTICE what I was struggling with. I had to notice the wrinkle so that He could smooth it out.
 
The wrinkles in my life are there for a reason. God is trying to show me something.
 
Noticing the wrinkles in my life is an intentional choice. When I do, I can attempt to iron them out in my own strength, or I can ask the Holy Spirit to show me what is going on. And guess what? He shows me. He reveals truth to me and just like the steam from an iron smooths a piece of fabric, so does my life begin to transform.

As I tumble through life, the wrinkles will continue to show up. If I choose to ignore them, I’ll not experience the freedom of knowing God’s best for my life. If I hand them over to Him, I will be receiving the work of his "iron." I will find His “wrinkle prevent” feature working perfectly.
 
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16





In 2019, I met with the Wheaton Library to apply to be considered as one of their monthly featured artists. My work was accepted and was scheduled to be on display in 2020. For obvious reasons, the exhibit was cancelled and rescheduled for August of this year.

I am thrilled to share that my work will be in the library gallery through the month of August. I will have about thirty pieces on display. I would be honored if you could visit the gallery during library hours. The information is in the graphic below.

Sending much love & gratitude for all your support! 

Re








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