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It All Comes Out in the Wash: Sorting Through Priorities When Your Load is Out of Balance

©2006 by Judi Braddy and Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City

A washing machine can become unbalanced, usually when it is overloaded—or when one item is much heavier than the others and keeps knocking the machine out of kilter. Judi Braddy cleverly compares an out-of-balance washing machine to how our lives get when we try to stuff way too much into them, heroically trying to “do it all.” She challenges women to step away from the “spin cycle” and become all God wants them to be, rather than what the world may seem to demand.

Ironically, the era of women’s liberation seemed to saddle women with even greater responsibility. We perceive that others expect certain things of us, and we don’t want to disappoint or appear to be shirking our responsibilities—or sometimes we simply don’t have the intestinal fortitude to say no. The result is depression and stress, rather than freedom.

Witty chapter titles include “The Fabric of Our Lives,” “What Happened to the Other Sock?” and “Sorting Through the Stinky Stuff”—a chapter about finally getting to the bottom of what is “stinking up” your life, and taking steps to route the odoriferous offenders. Another chapter—“Heavenly Hand-Me-Downs”—addresses how our family histories contribute to who we are. Some of our hand-me-downs fit just fine, like positive personality traits and inherent strengths. Others bring painful memories and we want to shed them as soon as possible. Braddy gently reminds the reader that we are not doomed to repeat family history—God can reveal to us those less-than-positive traits that need to be changed.

The final chapter, “A Freshly Laundered Legacy,” brings assurance that “whether or not you had the privilege of a biblical upbringing or a happy home life, you have the profound privilege and opportunity of providing one for your own family.” In order to leave a “freshly laundered spiritual legacy,” Braddy says, we must know the source of our strength, and recognize God has a plan and purpose for our lives. That, ultimately, is why it’s important to keep life’s big and little loads in balance.

PATTY KENNEDY is assistant web content editor for the national Women’s Ministries Department. She also writes book and music reviews for Pages and Tunes, a free e-newsletter provided by the national Women’s Ministries Department.

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