As part of my routine, it is possible to tell what day it is by the weight of the laundry basket. Fridays is for working through it, and so I can hear that long-suffering washing machine working away in the background. Each time the noise changes to a triumphant peep, there is a break to put its contents out to dry.
From looking at the writing of early Quakers, it would seem they also tended to get caught up in a routine. Since this was an agricultural society, there was much talk among themselves of "seeds", "threshing" and the prospect of huge "harvests", particularly within urban areas "ripe for the gathering". These days it may be much harder for those in a more affluent society to appreciate how much survival depended on doing things at the right time of year to the best of your ability and then knowing all too well how much you relied upon God for the weather.
The way we feel about work would seem to have changed very little over the centuries. At times it can give us a lift, even a sense of importance, although the reality for most people is often more about grind, working through the list, stress, scrutiny, competition and that pressing need to somehow get on with your colleagues. Just as Early Quakers would look forward to a harvest safety gathered in, we might still anticipate the empty in-box on our computers, and a job well done.
The way I feel about my laundry basket this morning would seem fairly typical of a Quaker. Even though it seems most unattractive at this present moment, I know that it has potential. For me it is a case of holding on to that belief, and being honest about the challenge ahead. Even though my washing machine has a "Mixed load" cycle where clothes are sloshed around at 40 degrees then spun very fast, laundry would seem like people, best to understand first before you try to change them.
The woolly items are easy to identify. These soft sensitive characters whom among Quakers tend to be very interested in the right type of consumerism and saving planet earth need to be treated gently. With a critical approach, they can shrink very small. Instead I think we should recognise the value of our Quaker way of life, and its sincerity. Use low temperatures, and Dry them as flat as they need. Wool provides warmth, a welcome and can make you feel very comfortable in Meeting.
Within any group of people, there are the strong characters, with a tendency to share their opinions and whose colours spread in the wash. Rather than bewail this sudden spread of darkness, it is best to be prepared, recognise that it may not be the individual at fault but the response. Although strong colours tend to generate a reaction, it may be helpful to remember that those with a message, may also need to be treated at a low temperature. Through inviting a response, they might well have been hurt before.
Synthetic characters also require understanding, patience and a particular type of care. Even though the net curtains have assumed a stubborn shade of grey, this may be because they have been hung up to attract all the dust. This does seem particularly unfair, not something we would readily do to clothes and particularly stressful having to minister to the neighbours for a while.
Some items are not merely externals, concerned only with appearance. These have been in the most difficult and demanding situations, shown strength as their primary characteristic, and so cannot always expect to seem lovely.
Within or around laundry baskets there are those items in denial, refusing to admit there could possibly be anything wrong. These "dry clean only" items are sometimes laid across the top, getting in other clothes way and looking a little lacking in direction. Such items tend to accumulate dirt slowly and smell a little chemically sometimes. They claim they are worth the investment, much too precious and sensitive for washing. These stubborn characters would rather be thrown away than admit to being anything less than perfect.
Such garments do not tend to relate very well to natural fibres, grounded upon truth, ready to endure whatever the washing machine throws at them, well used to hot water. At times they get a little creased and difficult to iron entirely flat, although those prepared to stand out and ask questions are like a breath of fresh air to a Meeting.
The way we clean our clothes would seem to have changed a great deal since our seventeenth century beginnings. Washing clothes, particularly in the winter must have been particularly hard. Collars, cuffs and bits under the arms could be removed so you did not have to clean the whole garment every time. The chemicals they used were to hand, typically urine as a bleach, clothes were churned around in a tub or beaten on smooth stones at the local river. It may be assumed that most people wore their clothes much longer before washing them. At this point it would seem diplomatic not to say anything very much about George Fox's trousers that he wore for many years to ride about the country on horseback and were apparently made of leather!
The symbolism of washing is shared by many faiths. It begins by recognising what it is really like to be human, that we have our temptations, our weakness, that things may go badly wrong, and yet we can do something about it. Our faults might be seen as an ugly mark, although all the time we are changing, given experience from which there is an opportunity to grow.
Being suddenly plunged in hot water can be quite alarming besides painful but there is a wider picture. We may not always emerge glowing white, but honesty and a willingness to learn from experience marks a new beginning every time.
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