Busy?

This Saturday Night (May 31, 6:30 p.m.) the Family Life Team is sponsoring a meeting to talk about how to manage our busy lives in God-glorifying ways. Cindy Campbell sent these thoughts on Busyness in a couple of months ago – can you identify?

It was one of those days……………. If you’re a mom, you know THOSE DAYS I’m talking about.……. Fighting had erupted early……….. at 6:30 am to be exact. So there I was quenching the war, administrating discipline, serving breakfast, cleaning up from breakfast, doing two loads of laundry, brushing teeth………. And all before 9:00 am. My sinful heart had already begun to brew inside. I walked past my laundry sorter, and felt that peace, you know the kind I mean……….. I had done all of the laundry and I knew that if I looked inside I would have the satisfaction of an empty hamper. In my heart I was thinking……. Well at least ONE THING is going my way.

But then I looked inside…………… where did those dirty clothes appear from? As I am stewing in my heart about why someone had not gotten their laundry in BEFORE the wash and just HOW many changes of clothing can one family have, I walked into the bathroom……… ah, I had just cleaned it yesterday…………But as I looked around, it looked like an army had come through and set up camp in my sink. Oh Lord, I grumbled in my heart……….. Some days working outside my home looks really appealing! Inside, I was complaining about how all that I do gets undone before I blink an eye! My heart was weary and I definitely did not feel very spiritual.

I went into my bedroom and there on my nightstand was a quote I had just read by Martin Luther –

“What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God.”

Suddenly the blinders were pulled back from my heart – complaining; anger; control; love of peace; my comforts – came into full view. I had been living in the place of looking at my circumstances and measuring my worth by my accomplishments. I had forgotten that my debt had already been paid by my Lord and Savior on Calvary’s cross, and that I had been CALLED to serve this wonderful family. I had just read this morning in my quiet time Psalm 16: 6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I was not looking at my life in those moments as pleasant places and I had not seen the Lord in my home. Instead of being grateful for the home He had given me; seeing my children as a gift and viewing my laundry and cleaning as from Him, I had been chaffing against the Lord. I stopped and repented………..

Oh Lord, my heart is so stubborn and unbelieving, would you please soften it. Please forgive my anger against what you have called me to do, my complaining spirit and my need for recognition and praise. Please help me to see YOU in my home, to remember, that as I wash my laundry, clean my bathroom, train my children and all the tasks that You lay before me each day, I am serving you and that I can bring honor and glory to Your name because this is where you have called me to be!

I walked by the laundry again, yep; all the clothes were still there - praise God! I stopped this time and thanked the Lord for my family and that I had the unique and wonderful privilege of serving them each and every day.