Maybe you don’t suffer from the same perfectionist tendencies that I do. But I can’t count the number of times that my husband has laughed at me for being unable to walk by the end table and NOT straighten up the stack of books. Or leave the forgotten (name the toy) in the middle of the living room floor–even when more pressing things are going on. So as you can imagine, I would normally be perturbed (to a great degree, in fact) about the condition of my home yesterday afternoon:
However, I found myself rather at peace inwardly, in spite of the disorder on the outside. Why? I don’t know. Honestly, it was a bit unusual. But instead of being in a rush to DO all the “stuff,” I was praising God for a BEAUTIFUL Spring afternoon. Glad that my kids could FINALLY be playing outside…and wanting to be outside to enjoy it with them! So I was in and out, doing a little of this and a little of that in the house (because, as you can see, there was a great deal to do!) AND hanging out enjoying my kids and the beautiful weather.
I was also trying not to focus on the immense amount of work that our Sam’s Club trip & other errands were (even given that we used Click ‘n Pull, which–IMHO–is a God-send!). Instead, I was just SOOOO thankful for NEW FOOD!! The last week of March was a stretch, as our grocery budget isn’t going as far as it used to.
And, at 4:15–when I realized that if I kept up my current pace the house would continue in this downward-spiraling direction and we wouldn’t eat dinner until 6:30–I called the kids in from outside for an Emergency Clean-up. One boy put away clean dishes and washed a few more. Another did “clutter control” and put away a bunch of the things that were laying around. The girls put their laundry away and set the table for supper. I finished putting *most* of the groceries away and had one of the boys drag the cart outside. (Praise God for the cart!!) A concerted half-hour effort actually normalized things amazingly well.
The wood pile (or, rather, where the wood pile WAS) is still in need of cleaning. And today I DEFINITELY have to attack that huge laundry pile. But in spite of the chaos, yesterday was a great day.
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)