The Laundry Is Never Done

Today is laundry day for me. Actually, I wash a load about three times a week. As I’m sitting here in my office writing, the laundry room is right across the hallway, and I can hear the clanking of buttons and zippers as the clothes tumble around in the dryer.

Even though there are only two of us, I swear the laundry breeds in the hamper. A friend told me a long time ago that laundry is never, ever completely done…unless you do it without clothes on. LOL! She has a point.

Laundry really is an endless cycle. You wash it, dry it, fold it, put it away—and then you change clothes and start the whole process all over again.

There’s something a little frustrating about work that never stays finished, isn’t there? But as I sat here listening to that dryer tumble, I started thinking about how much of life is exactly like that.

The dishes we wash tonight will be dirty again tomorrow. The floor we sweep will collect more dirt. The meal we cook will be eaten, and a few hours later somebody will be hungry again.

We answer emails, pay bills, mow grass, make beds, clean the house, buy groceries, and take out the trash, only to turn around and do it all again.

Sometimes it can feel like we aren’t accomplishing much because there’s no permanent finish line. But maybe we’re measuring accomplishment the wrong way.

Scripture says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” —Colossians 3:23

I love that it says whatever you do. Not just the big things. Not just the things other people notice. Not just the things that feel important or have lasting, visible results.

Whatever you do. That means there can be purpose even in the ordinary, repetitive things that have to be done over and over again.

Maybe faithfulness isn’t always about finishing something once and for all. Sometimes faithfulness looks like simply showing up and doing what needs to be done today, and being willing to do it again tomorrow.

There’s a lot of life lived in those ordinary moments. Meals made. Clothes washed. Floors swept. Dogs fed. People cared for. Prayers prayed.

None of those things stays “done.” But that doesn’t make them meaningless. In fact, some of the most important things we do in this life are things we’ll have to do again and again.

So, the next time you’re staring at a hamper that somehow filled itself back up after you just emptied it, maybe remember this. The fact that something needs to be done again doesn’t mean what you did yesterday didn’t matter. It mattered then. And doing it faithfully today matters too.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, the dryer just buzzed, so I’d better go get it out and start folding and hanging before it wrinkles. Apparently, my work here is not done.

August 16, 2026, Morning Brew