March 9, 2014
What a beautiful morning. Open the windows and open the doors, let the breeze in and let the sunshine in. Today is the day my dad and his wife are coming to town from Las Vegas. My husbands brother and wife are hanging out by the pool and heading back to a cold wintery Chicago and we have new family members coming to town.
On a normal day when either of my parents are coming to my house, the day would be filled with anxiety about how clean and nice my home is. My parents come from money and have a worldview that differs from me in many ways. I love a clean house, but I love more to spend time with my family and if I had to pick between cleaning and quality time with my family. Quality time wins every time. Maybe it's really about me being lazy or maybe it's really about me understanding what's more important. You see I watched my mom work all day long with my dad in their business then come home and work all night on the house. I rarely remember doing anything fun with her. Her entire life was tasks, tasks and more tasks. So, this is the model that was set before me. My mother is the most organized woman I know. She probably had to be. My dad's wife comes from the same generation. The good news is that about 8 months ago I was "delivered" from the guilt of not cleaning my house the second I walked through the door or when anyone came over. What an amazing "delivery" this was. I use to come home and if I cleaned, I would feel guilty for not spending time with the kids and if I didn't clean I would feel guilt for not cleaning. Either way was a loss. I no longer suffer (and I mean SUFFER) that guilt. I clean when it's time to clean and I spend time with the kids when it's time to spend time with family. But I'm not in bondage to this "cleaning" thing that has plagued my life since I was a kid.
So, back to today. We did clean up the house, but we cleaned up together as a family and not to impress anyone but to take some pride in our home. The kids, my husband and I spruced up the home and felt good when we were done. The funny part was when my dad and step mom arrived we sat outside in the backyard we spent no time in the house. We barbequed and ate off paper plates with a campfire in the backyard. It was lovely. It was great to see them and I'm very thankful they took the time to come down from Las Vegas where they had a convention (this is s 6 hour drive) to hang out with us for a few days. We had a great conversation and enjoyed the beautiful evening.
Another day of family and building relationships. I'm loving this Lenten season!!
"I will guard against the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things that creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, causing us to become fruitless." Mark 4:19
Lord God, I thank you for the health of my dad and his wife. I thank you for the beautiful home you have allowed us to live in for the past 10 years. I"m especially thankful for restoring me in a way that makes me not stress or worry about impressing anyone with regards to our home. That I can feel joy in spending time with my family even if things aren't perfectly put into place. I ask you to bless them as they travel back to Oregon in a few days and to bless our conversations and let all things lead to love and restoration of relationships. Help us to build strong bonds between each other and continue to do a work in me to know what is important and what "can wait". In Jesus name, amen.
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