Wet Washing Out; Wet Washing In by Tracy Williamson

 This morning I woke to a bright blue sky and sunshine, tipping last night's forecast of unremitting rain on its nose.  In a burst of enthusiasm I stripped all the beds and stuffed the sheets and duvet covers in the washing machine.  

'You must be mad' my housemate Marilyn said.  'It's going to be raining all day today, how will you dry them?'  

Presuming Marilyn hadn't realised it was sunny (she is blind) I replied blithely, 'it's a beautiful day, the forecast was wrong!  They'll dry in no time.'  

Marilyn shook her head doubtfully, but I was sure I'd made the right decision when an hour later the sky was still clear and with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze it seemed perfect drying weather.  Marilyn's lift arrived for her church lunch and I happily pegged up the full basket full of bed linen.  The sheets and duvet covers  were soon dancing happily in the breeze and glowing in the bright sun.  I felt smug.  

Five minutes later, sitting at my computer ready for work, I suddenly realised the room was growing very dark.  I glanced up and to my shock, saw that the blue sky had vanished and the sunshine had turned into a torrential downpour.  How could that have happened in such a short space of time and how could I have been so silly to ignore Marilyn's advice as she is a weather forecast expert.  I decided to leave the washing out.  It must surely only be a quick shower and the sun would come back out and my washing would dry?  I turned away from the window and opened my files.

Twenty minutes later with the sky still black and rain beating down I knew I was defeated. The washing was far wetter and heavier than before I'd hung it out to dry!  I'd read the signs completely wrong and my timing had been woeful.

Needless to say, five minutes after draping it over the indoor airer, the sun came out again, but I'd learnt my lesson - today was not a good day for washing and drying!

All of this made me wonder how adept I am at reading the signs and the times and being in tune with God's rhythms in my life?  I have been rejoicing with many of you recently in your celebrating the bringing out of new books.  As a slow writer I am full of admiration for all who can write one book after another and would love to emulate you. But does God want that for me? I feel guilty that it's now a year since my last book was published and I haven't done any serious writing since.  Sometimes I hold back out of fear which isn't what God wants for me either, but I do need to recognise the right times and seasons for me personally.  WE all need to know and rest in our own unique rhythm.

I am struck how Jesus was unafraid to be true to his own rhythms of life and worship.  He never yielded to pressure to do things in a certain way or time but listened to both his own heart and the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  One moment ministering in the midst of a dense crowd of thousands, the next sleeping, the next slipping out for uninterrupted time with his Father.  He knew the right timings for himself and recognised what should have priority when.  He probably would never have hung washing out to dry but I'm sure that if he did it would have stayed sunny because he'd have recognised the right timing. 

Now as I struggled to fit the sodden bed linen over the airers, it was as if he was whispering in my heart, 'don't live by push and pull but recognise the timings that are right for you and live by them.' 

As I pray and listen,  I am feeling that the right time for me to start a new book is a month from now.  It is a calmer month work wise, but also I sense that it will be the right time for my sky to stay blue and my sun to stay shining. Or more specifically, that will be the better season for me to gather my thoughts to translate into words, sentences and chapters.  But for now in my rhythm, I need to give time to other vital things - being with my Father, completing work projects, making time for family and friends and being myself without push and pull.

PS the sheets are drying nicely inside!

Tracy Williamson has written several books of a Christian devotional/healing theme and, A Beautiful Tapestry, the combined autobiography of her and her ministry partner and friend. Marilyn Baker. Her latest book Unashamed was published in Sept 23 by Authentic Media.  Tracy and Marilyn share a home together in Kent alongside Marilyn's guide dog, Arlo.  They work for MBM Trust www.mbm-ministries.org ministering hope and wholeness to hurting people.