Encouraging Treats

“If only I could turn back time… if only I could… if only I could.”

I kept singing this song while I was trying to salvage my light blue jeans, blue & white gradient long-sleeved maong, and my light blue off-shoulder top after they were stained by my purple Thai pants.

It was already 10:30 pm and I was just starting to do my laundry for the week. I only had a few clothes in the laundry basket, so I decided to wash all of them in one load. I usually don’t have a problem washing my black clothes with my lighter colored clothes. But, for some reason, even though I knew that my purple Thai pants was still new, I included it in the batch of my laundry two nights ago.

I badly wanted to sleep soon, so I transferred the clothes from the washer to the dryer as soon as the cycle was done. The next few seconds of transferring clothes made my jaw drop and my heart beat faster.

I saw that some of my clothes were purple!!! They were purple!!! Hahaha! At first, I thought that I didn’t see things clearly because I was already very exhausted. But, as I pulled out each fabric stained by the purple dye, I really couldn’t believe my eyes.

What have I done? What was I thinking? How could I have been so stupid?

The three garments affected by the dye were special to me:
1. The light blue jeans is currently the only pair of jeans that I have.
2. The long-sleeved maong top was a new top and was only used once. I also liked how the blue and white colors blended together.
3. The light blue off-shoulder top was the only casual top (not Thai inspired) that I bought from Bangkok in my recent weekend trip.

A part of me got frustrated with myself, while another part of me just laughed at the situation. I even showed the clothes to my brother and sister and said that “At least, my new light purple pants can match my newly dyed blue and light purple maong top.” HAHAHA.

I was tempted to feel angry at myself and at God for allowing it to happen. He could have stopped me from adding the purple pants to the washer before the cycle, but He didn’t.

By God’s grace, He gave me peace and helped me see the good things about the situation:

1. He helped remind me of the fleeting things in this world and how important it is not to get attached to them. I was only able to use the gradient top once and now, unfortunately, I can no longer bring it back to its original state. But, I am reminded that life isn’t about clothes. It isn’t about my possessions or appearance. It’s about finding my true identity and contentment in Christ regardless of the situations I face and mistakes I make.

2. Now, I know very well the importance of being a good steward of my clothes by washing new ones separately at first, especially if they came from stores that sell clothes that didn’t go through high-quality dyeing processes.

3. God doesn’t make mistakes even if I do. So, I can trust that He can use my shortcomings to speak to me and help me grow. Maybe He wanted me to fail at doing laundry tonight so I could remember his faithfulness and grace for me.

4. Lastly, maybe… it was finally time for me to buy a different pair of jeans. A darker one that I can use more often.

Sometimes, God lets us experience contentment in Him through the most random things. Hopefully, the next time around, I will learn from this and act wisely. Thank You, Lord, for new mercies each day… and for my new purplish clothes. Hehehe.

Whew.