Loving the Clutter We Can't Change

It will never cease to amaze me how a tidy home can turn upside down within minutes or hours of time.  It may be returning from an overnight adventure or just coming home from church, but with seven or more in our home at any given time, it happens fast.  Yes, we are training our children to be tidy and No, they have not yet arrived.  Regardless of tidy or not, sometimes life just requires that there is mess and disorder.

A while ago, I shared about Clean Stables (http://www.myheartathome.com/2010/06/letting-go-of-clean-stable.html) and how if we are going to reap a harvest of abundance we need to accept some mess.  I don't want to reiterate that here, but I do want to build on some of those thoughts.  There are so many times that I find myself sliding down a slippery slope of "if only"...If only I could get the living room cleaned up I would be able to relax...If only I could get my preschoolers to sleep I will have some time to regroup...If only I...  You get the idea - when I am not careful, and especially when I am tired, the "if only's" can take over my thinking.  I don't want to live this life for the few moments of peace and quiet I might be able to find - I want to live for all of it, mess and all!

I don't believe God meant for us to live our days as moms (or in any other role, for that matter) looking to the "if only's".  He has blessed us, equipped us and placed us in the here and now for a purpose and a reason.  If we spend our time looking to other things, we will greatly miss what He is trying to do in our midst and the good things we have already been blessed with.  Remember, it is not by our strength - II Peter 1:3 says, "HIS divine power has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness."

The other day I was looking mournfully into our very small closet in our mudroom, wishing when we had built the house we had understood how many pairs of shoes would have to fit in there someday.  As I sorted through them (again), I caught myself thinking, "Well, when my 11 year old out grows these, I will save them for my 8 year old, but when the 6 year old grows these ones out, the 4 year old won't wear them so I can get rid of them.  As for the sandals, I could probably..."  And on and on it went as I tried to bring order to running shoes, dress shoes, sandals, etc for seven people.  I stopped myself midway and thought how pathetic is this?  I am wishing the life I love away, because of clutter that will not go away.  I don't want to do that. 

Later on, as I shared this with a sweet friend, she told me I reminded her of a country song she liked, called "You're Gonna Miss This".  Since I hadn't heard of that one, I searched the title and was so touched by the lyrics...  The chorus says:
      You're gonna miss this, you're gonna want this back,
      You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast,
      These are some good times, so take a good look around,
      You may not know it now, but you're gonna miss this.

Everything within me resonated "YES - this is so true!"  I found the rest of my evening and the day following, mentally occupied reviewing so many of the joys I have seen come and go already, especially from the baby and toddler years, that I will never get back.  What great perspective came again, not for the first time, but refreshed again at a deeper level.  When Moses told us in Psalm 90 to, "Number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom", I believe this is one of the deposits of that wisdom. 

We can't wish the trials of life away, we can't want days to pass quickly because we are tired or kids are sick - yes, they are hard and yes, we feel stretched, but God has promised it will NEVER be beyond what He knows we can handle.  He happens to think a lot of you and me because there are many, many times I have been sure I was beyond what I felt capable of. But I wasn't - I have more than survived thus far, and with memories that make me want to more LOVE THE CLUTTER that I can't change.  This is life - life at its fullest, richest and best!  Thank you God for the blessings all around me - even if they happen to be buried beneath clutter.
 

Promises, Promises

I am so glad that we love and serve a God who ALWAYS keeps His promises.  I have been reading through some of His promises lately and I can't help but be thankful and encouraged.  All that we need, for whatever we face, can be found in God and His Word, that assures us of His love and care.

In the classic Mary Poppins movie, there is a quote that represents well what the world thinks of the average promises.  Mary Poppins answers a request for a promise and says, "That is a pie crust promise - easily made and easily broken." It is how we experience many things as we are growing up and that special adult in our life forgets to do something they said they would or a best friend forgets to meet us where they said they were going to or....you get the idea.  BUT not God!  In II Corinthians 1:20 Paul tells us, "No matter how many promises God has made they are YES in Christ."  That means we can go to the bank on what God's Word says for us.

So, what do you need to know to carry you through the time you are in?  Are you lonely?  Then you need to know that God has PROMISED He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).  Are you overwhelmed with children and housework?  Then you need to know that God has PROMISED that you can do all things through Christ Who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).  Are you depressed?  Then you need to know that God has PROMISED to lift you out of the slimy pit and the mud and mire and set your feet on a rock with a firm place to stand (Psalm 40:2).  Do you see what God has made available to us?  But we can't access the richness of His promises if we are not taking time to be in His Word - there is nothing of greater value that will carry you through each day than time spent with God.  Find the time, ask Him to help you make the time, carve out the time and then sit back with Him and just see what He has to PROMISE you!

Flapping Around

This week we had the privilege of rescuing a hummingbird from our garage - it is not the first time and I hope it won't be the last, because I love seeing these little creatures up close.  They are a reminder of God's wonderful design and plan in the way He has created everything around us.

This time with the hummingbird, though, I had a new observation about life ~ although our family had the best of intentions to help him get out of the garage, because he was panicking in efforts to escape, we couldn't help him until he settled down.  As I pondered this, it began to remind me of how I must respond to God sometimes.  Even though I know in my head that He has the best of intentions for me, when circumstances around me are not going the way I would hope or want, I can be found flapping around and panicking.  This takes me to the same place as that little hummingbird, in that God will have a hard time helping me if I can't rest in Him. 

How do we rest when we feel like overwhelmed with life?  We need to remind ourselves of WHO God is and WHAT He desires to do for us.  There are so many places in the Word that assure us of God's good intentions for our lives and not for evil.  Psalm 34 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." And Psalm 100 says that, "The Lord is good and his love endures forever."  Then Psalm 119 tell us, "You (God) are good and what you do is good."  There are many more references, but they give us the same assurance - God has good to bring into our lives and when that is not what we "see" happening around us, we need to trust that the good will come and claim what He has promised for us.

One of my favourite verses is found in Jeremiah 29:11, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Rest in knowing He has the best plans for you!