Wrinkles and Creases

It has been several months since I have posted. So much has been happening in my life that, at times I feel like I am longing for a love lost. Being busy, stressed, and overwhelmed will do that to you, causing you to long for the things that bring you joy.

After my coffee this morning, I gathered up the laundry, sorted out my husband’s shirts, plugged in the iron, and cleared off the ironing board. It’s that flat surface that things get piled on, like the bed and kitchen table. Why we don’t just put stuff away where it belongs is truly a battle of the flesh. I turned on some worship music and laid out a shirt to iron. It is one of those chores that I don’t need to be mindfully present as the steam escaping reminds me to keep moving the iron back and forth over every wrinkle. And sometimes, a little starch is required for those tough spots and to get those sleaves creased just right.

My thoughts wandered as the music played, and I soon found myself laying hands on my husband’s shirt as the Holy Spirit drew me to pray for the man. “God, cover Him in your grace, mercy, and favor. Lead him to green pastures overflowing with your goodness. Guide him with your hand and by your Spirit with wisdom, humility, and kindness. Allow his thirst to be quenched by your living waters, and may your Word be alive in his heart and life.” Tears flowed along with the Spirit of God as my prayers shifted to others, children, grandchildren, and the much and little that came to mind. Jesus was there ministering to all my needs.

We are each filled with wrinkles and creases. Some on our faces show the times of life like the family clock on the wall, and others are in our soul, wounds that have left deep crevices, scars. Some are in our thoughts as we sift through wrinkled memories that cause us to see the world a bit skewed, to judge others through our pain, and judge ourselves harshly. Yet, the most wrinkled and creased parts of ourselves we wear daily like an accessory. Our shame, guilt, regret, and feelings of insignificance bound in fear wrinkle our spirit and put deep creases in our relationships and even in our relationship with Jesus.

My thoughts wandered to the few relationships that were fractured by creases left uncared for over time. It reminded me of a pair of jeans I have where the hem rolls over despite my pressing it down with the iron. ‘It’s the stitching. It’s the cut of the fabric,’ I said to myself. It’s not anything I have done to cause those relationships to be wounded. Rather it is the wounded. It’s who they are – for now. I press in with more prayer and hope for things to smooth over.

The music stopped, and I opened my eyes as I stood over my husband’s shirt, now wet with my tears. Just like the steam spitting out from the iron, I felt such a release of my spirit, a freedom from the worries and weariness I had been carrying. I picked up the iron and pressed down on his shirt, seeling my tears in the fabric, knowing that they were a sweet offering to God for my beloved.

Though our wrinkles and creases may be painful at times to acknowledge, God is ready for every one of them with His plan to heal those unique places in our soul, heart, and mind. It’s in those moments of pressing in, crying out, experiencing the challenges, and experiencing His deliverance that we discover who we are to Him and our significance as His beloved. Compelled by the Father’s love towards us, Jesus draws in closer, speaking to our inner person, His Spirit embracing our spirit. Jesus’s mercy and compassion press in to release healing in all our wrinkles and creases.

⁸ Though we experience every kind of pressure, we’re not crushed. At times we don’t know what to do, but quitting is not an option. ⁹ We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out. ¹⁰ We continually share in the death of Jesus in our own bodies so that the resurrection life of Jesus will be revealed through our humanity.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 TPT