Dueling Irons (Lisa)

My friend and I stood facing each other with dueling hot irons, tackling 22 tablecloths for hours on end. She was generously helping me prepare, in more ways than one, for my daughter’s upcoming memorial reception. On my own, I had tried to iron one of the smallest cloths in the bunch but the slippery roundness of the cloth kept sliding and I kept losing my place. I felt lost!

She suggested we iron each cloth together. We took massive round tablecloths and folding the challenge in half, we dangled the weight of it between us and our matching boards. We ironed and tugged until we met in the middle, sharing the load, guiding each other along the way, double checking each other’s work. We team played on the wrinkles. We tackled life. Together. With happy music playing and conversation rolling we ironed for over 4 hours. I was no longer lost.

My friend did that for me.

So many worldly things, personal challenges, grief, relationship struggles, can feel like a big old wrinkly tablecloth, so round and slippery. Tackling your wrinkle even twice sends you traveling on a tired circular path. Maybe it’s time to look for Jesus in a friend and meet them in the middle.

I could have declined her double duty ironing idea but I didn’t. She would have gone along for an alternative ride but this was brilliant. Genius. It worked. Togetherness. My friend knows Jesus. And I know Jesus well enough to recognize His face in hers today. She did not force her idea on me, it was a gentle suggestion, followed by a loving listen.

How can we be that ironing friend for our neighbor? My friend started from a place of love and listening, creating a safe smooth ironing surface to tackle those wrinkles. An unconditional space of love was found in the middle of all that.

Jesus didn’t ask us to fix our neighbors. judge our neighbors. He asked us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Be a friend and love someone to their middle. Jesus loves meeting places. He will take it from there. Wherever two or more shall meet…

Happy ironing!