No fair, weekends go by way faster than I want them to. Thankfully the older kids were thoughtful and helped clean up the kitchen after that all-afternoon and evening baking and cooking and eating dinner marathon we had yesterday. The thing is, I always feel like I have lost so much ground when Monday rolls around again...like I finally get the place almost where I want it by Friday, then ahh, the weekend...and things pile up again, and ugh, Monday again! Laundry is piled up, and sweaters dangle from chair arms, books grace couches, and the newspaper pile on top of the dog cage starts taking over...of course there are Nerf guns and Barbie dolls, but also some dirty socks here and there, and this morning there are kernals of dried corn here and there...Abigail took the kids for a walk on Saturday, they collected ears of corn...what fun! They took the kernals off the cobs and have bowls of them to play with for their dolls. rrr. I told them we are going to have rats and mice!
So, since I have to leave here in a few hours for the Dome, I will do a quick pick up, sweep, throw in a load of laundry, and it will have to do for today.
I was thinking this morning about how backwards we think, the things we value that really have no value, such as our looks. Not too long ago, someone told me that I look younger and younger as the years go by. This is not true, but still, I liked hearing it. I don't wear make-up except for on Halloween, don't blow dry or curl my hair, ect. But I am still full of vanity. And it is so selfish and useless! There is so much to work on on the inside! Not that it is bad to look nice and neat, not at all...but these vain things can be such a smokescreen, such a distraction from what is really important in life. Sometimes I imagine what it will be like to actually stand before God someday. I want to hear that I have been a good and faithful servant! Not that I wasted so much time on myself...
The other night as I rode home from home the Dome with six of my kids (Emily, Mirielle, Joseph, Aaron, Mali, and Sam), they started talking about when they were little. They ganged up on me, and reminded me of times when they did bad things and got in big trouble, got some spankings. I was tempted to justify myself, but...the truth is that although I did do the best I could at the time, I am a work in progress, and have changed the way I think about alot of things, and if I could do it all over, I would have overlooked so many more things! Anyway, last night as we were cleaning up the kitchen, a few of them were teasing me about my lack of organization and how I can't keep the house clean...but one of them said, "I think you are a good mother, just not a good housekeeper." Now THAT was music to my ears!!!
I guess the moral to this story is to get that connection with God, so that you aren't harsh and right, but humble and willing to yield. Then no matter what you do, it will go well. There is no "one way" to do things, but God gives grace to the humble.
And that is my sermon for the day. ha. Now, off to face Monday!!
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2 comments:
There will always, always be cleaning to do. Your post today made me think of this poem:
Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
Your children will remember your love for them, not whether your house was always (or never) spotless. Keep doing what you're doing, you are a wonderful mother!
XOXO
OHhhh, I can so relate with the kids comment. "A better mom than a housekeeper." I hope that's what my kids say someday because I'm sure they won't tell me I'm a great housekeeper. Ha! You know what? You ARE a good mom. So no worries. I always wish I could change things in the past but I can't. I only learn with experience. :) I'll have it all figured out by the time I'm a grandma and then I have to keep my opinions to myself. lol
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