Can you tell it's summer? I'm just not here as much as I want to be. But our days are full. We had VBS last week, which was a blast and had a great turn-out. Then our youth group did some concessions for two night - there were over 500 people each night. And this week so far, I've been playing catch-up in the garden and that gives me a lot of time to think.
#1 on my list to think about is excuses.
Excuses people have for making their choices that drastically and most of the time negatively affect those around them. But they have their "reason" and so that makes it all o.k.
Right along with that, and maybe at the top of the list, are my excuses. Slowly over time, I'm realizing that I've thought all along that I was submitting to my husband and that "I'm good." in that area. But what I have come to realize is that I haven't been putting his desires for our family before my own.
My own aren't necessarily bad, but over and over and over again. I see times throughout our 17 year marriage where he was asking me to do something - the dishes at each meal time, keep up with the laundry, etc. And when he asked, it was with this motive, "Life would be so much easier for you and less stressful, if you could do these things." His heart was tender toward me. He wanted what was best for me, but I didn't listen for so many years.
First it was the dishes, I would let them pile up all day and maybe get to them that night. And I hated dishes. Hated them. Why did I hate them? By the time I ever got to them, they were stuck on tight and took forever. I don't know how many years ago, I made a commitment to do them after every meal. Now that I have help from the kids it's a bit easier, but even during the school year when the kids were gone so quickly, it was not so bad. Now, although dishes are not a joy, there are times when I do find joy in serving my family. And now, I do not hate them. I do not dread them.
Then it was the laundry, and the pile to wash would be as high as the washing machine from the floor. It was so discouraging. I hated to think of laundry. And then one day, I made a decision to do laundry every day, set the buzzer on the dryer and change loads immediately, until I had all the things done in the laundry room. Oh the freedom, I do not dread laundry.
So while working in the garden many hours in the hot sun this week, I was thinking about the things he suggests that I still have not done. He wants us to work in the garden for an hour to keep up. It's a fairly big garden and has much to be done. To me, it's a daunting task. All he wants is for me to have a lighter load. He doesn't want me to have to pull huge weeds, because I let the garden go for a week. After being in the garden for over 10 hours in three days, in the hot sun, I think he may have something here.
Why does it take me so long to figure out that Carpenter isn't out there looking for things for me to do? He wants me to enjoy life. He sees that it would be best if things were organized and then I wouldn't have to run around like crazy to find things.
And in the same way, I think God must at times shake his head at us. His desires for us are that we would enjoy life and yet we choose not to do things his way.
Keep pressing on,
Steph
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