don't give up
Nathanael keeps his legos in a shallow, under-the-bed rubbermaid box. During the day, you can hear the scratching of blocks against plastic as he rummages through to find a windshield, a wing, a lego man head. As his pile grows through birthdays and Christmases, finding the right piece has gotten more and more challenging.
Seeing that it was time for an organizational change, we headed to Target to find a more suitable home for his ever growing collection. We came back with a souped-up five drawer organizer on wheels.
That was the easy part.
He decided that he wanted to group the legos by color-- blacks and greys, whites and tans, reds, then blues, greens and yellows. Which left one small drawer for the very special, all-important pieces that he didn't want to lose.
The kids and I sat on the floor of his room next to his current Lego box. Taking a few handfuls at a time, we each chose a color and started sorting. Piece by piece, the handfuls began to disappear. Then another one scooped from the "mother pile." We soon discovered that blacks and greys outnumbered the other colors hands down and that blue often took the form of a miniscule sized piece.
This project continued over a number of days, with each pile seeming to disappear slower than the first as our energy waned. Sometimes, it seemed like the big pile was not decreasing a bit. Though it took some prodding on my part, the kids good naturedly continued, though not without stopping often to stack lego heads or to collect "gems" for their collection.
We finally finished, after a week of sorting. His collection now stands in a very organized, five-drawer rolling cart, ordered by color.
It was worth the time.
Yet how much of a mom's life is life that-- continuing on, day by day, in sometimes miniscule details of life. Most of the time, it doesn't even appear that our efforts are having effect. Or else, what we've spent time doing is "undone" the next day. Another dish to stack. Another shirt to fold. Another toy to put back in the "put away later" basket. (Oh, how I love baskets!)
In Galatians 6:9, Paul talks about continuing on in the business of sowing seeds. And who are we as mothers but seed planters? We are called to daily sow seeds of truth, grace, love, among others, into the hearts of our children. We are also called to care for our household, which is composed of a myriad of time-consuming, repeating tasks.
I become weary.
When there come days, weeks, when my efforts seem to be accomplishing nothing. Kids bicker and my efforts to calm, instruct, teach seem to be bouncing off of their hearts. Or when I get mired in self-pity over having another load of laundry to do, another muddy pawprint to wipe off my white kitchen tile.
I feel ready to give up.
Then the words come in, the Truth rushes in, God gently cautioning me not to be so rash. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
God knows what it means to be patient. His patience is infinite, for it has to be with such reluctant, stubborn followers as we are. And he has never once given up on us.
Sometimes walking by faith means just being willing to put one foot in front of the other. To continue even though everything and everyone around tells you to stop, to give up.
Sometimes there is no great victory to report, no news of a trophy won, a mountain climbed or a goal attained. Sometimes, our praise is that we've taken another step in the right direction. That we haven't given up.
By His grace.
#133 having the kids in bed by 9 pm
#134 ice cream sundaes after dinner
#135 Lydia's alphabet soup creation
#136 snuggling with Nathanael, reading a book about bugs
#137 a china bowl full of crepe myrtle blossoms
#138 chubby hands making marker creations, on paper and face
#139 grace pouring out of sadness
#140 grocery shopping alone today
#141 nose nuzzles with abigail
#142 bath bubbles
#143 good morning text from my love first thing in the morning
#144 forgiveness releasing His light
Seeing that it was time for an organizational change, we headed to Target to find a more suitable home for his ever growing collection. We came back with a souped-up five drawer organizer on wheels.
That was the easy part.
He decided that he wanted to group the legos by color-- blacks and greys, whites and tans, reds, then blues, greens and yellows. Which left one small drawer for the very special, all-important pieces that he didn't want to lose.
The kids and I sat on the floor of his room next to his current Lego box. Taking a few handfuls at a time, we each chose a color and started sorting. Piece by piece, the handfuls began to disappear. Then another one scooped from the "mother pile." We soon discovered that blacks and greys outnumbered the other colors hands down and that blue often took the form of a miniscule sized piece.
This project continued over a number of days, with each pile seeming to disappear slower than the first as our energy waned. Sometimes, it seemed like the big pile was not decreasing a bit. Though it took some prodding on my part, the kids good naturedly continued, though not without stopping often to stack lego heads or to collect "gems" for their collection.
We finally finished, after a week of sorting. His collection now stands in a very organized, five-drawer rolling cart, ordered by color.
It was worth the time.
Yet how much of a mom's life is life that-- continuing on, day by day, in sometimes miniscule details of life. Most of the time, it doesn't even appear that our efforts are having effect. Or else, what we've spent time doing is "undone" the next day. Another dish to stack. Another shirt to fold. Another toy to put back in the "put away later" basket. (Oh, how I love baskets!)
In Galatians 6:9, Paul talks about continuing on in the business of sowing seeds. And who are we as mothers but seed planters? We are called to daily sow seeds of truth, grace, love, among others, into the hearts of our children. We are also called to care for our household, which is composed of a myriad of time-consuming, repeating tasks.
I become weary.
When there come days, weeks, when my efforts seem to be accomplishing nothing. Kids bicker and my efforts to calm, instruct, teach seem to be bouncing off of their hearts. Or when I get mired in self-pity over having another load of laundry to do, another muddy pawprint to wipe off my white kitchen tile.
I feel ready to give up.
Then the words come in, the Truth rushes in, God gently cautioning me not to be so rash. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
God knows what it means to be patient. His patience is infinite, for it has to be with such reluctant, stubborn followers as we are. And he has never once given up on us.
Sometimes walking by faith means just being willing to put one foot in front of the other. To continue even though everything and everyone around tells you to stop, to give up.
Sometimes there is no great victory to report, no news of a trophy won, a mountain climbed or a goal attained. Sometimes, our praise is that we've taken another step in the right direction. That we haven't given up.
By His grace.
#133 having the kids in bed by 9 pm
#134 ice cream sundaes after dinner
#135 Lydia's alphabet soup creation
#136 snuggling with Nathanael, reading a book about bugs
#137 a china bowl full of crepe myrtle blossoms
#138 chubby hands making marker creations, on paper and face
#139 grace pouring out of sadness
#140 grocery shopping alone today
#141 nose nuzzles with abigail
#142 bath bubbles
#143 good morning text from my love first thing in the morning
#144 forgiveness releasing His light
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