Whew! Even with that extra hour, it has been a FULL weekend--two soccer games, an early morning hour in an auto repair waiting room with my three children, grandparent visits, a BIG football game, two dozen Young Life folks to my house for dinner, spending the night in a tent again (this time without my husband) whose call weekend has logged him 36 hours in the hospital since Friday morning (and counting)--plus all the other life stuff like laundry, groceries, etc. I am pooped!
But even in the midst of all the chaos, there have been a handful of moments I want to treasure.
A poignant impromptu conversation with the kids over pizza Friday about movie/game ratings and why what we put in our hearts and minds matters.
Sweet prayers initiated by my son for a young friend of his going through a very difficult time.
A stolen moment in the middle of a parking lot when my husband just grinned at me at said, "I really love you."
All three of my little people on my queen sized air mattress at 6am, whispering excitedly about their successful campout.
My daughter telling me this morning how much she loves going to our church. (THANK YOU precious volunteers who make that so!)
Tucking my tribe into bed tonight to the soundtrack of 20 college students singing praise songs to guitar in my living room.
The tearful kitchen conversation with a coed about life and love that took me back to similar conversation with an older friend of mine when I was in my early twenties.
Not a single one of those moments was Earth-shattering--but together they form a collage--snapshots of a beautiful, full life.
As I lay in bed and think back over my weekend I have choices. I can remember the hard parts:
The four bathroom trips from the tent between midnight and 5am. The dog dug up the plants (again!) I forgot to put the trio's lovies in the dryer and everything was wet at bedtime. Quarreling children. My husband got stuck in the OR, while I shopped, cooked, cleaned and hosted lots of people--hoping my children didn't tear the house down and I did not destroy my testimony...Did I mention my babysitter came down with strep?
OR I can focus only on the sweet (which is precious, but not entirely accurate either.)
Tonight I was reminded of this amazing post by Glennon at Momastery that I think seems to capture the best option--admitting that you don't have to love every minute, to still appreciate the beauty of life.
Truthfully, a good day often simply has 10-15 magical minutes that were possible because of the work, perseverence and showing up that happened the other 23 hours and 45 minutes. I don't think that statement makes me pessimistic. I think it is real life.
"But even there, if you seek God, your God, you’ll be able to find him if you’re serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul." Deuteronomy 4:29 (The Message translation)
Sovereign God is at work in all of it. Pursuing us. Challenging us. Strengthening us. Forgiving us. Refining us. Some moments are so precious we can't miss it...and some frankly aren't cute at all...but He's there all the same.
1 comment:
I love this post. As a stay-at-home mama of four under five, what you just described is the key to my survival. To say that our life is busy would be an understatement, and the truth is that I don't enjoy every single moment. But savoring and cherishing the moments I do enjoy makes the rest of the day worth all the effort (and sadly, your ratio isn't far off some days). I am also a Glennon/Momastery follower and I sang a very loud and affirmative AMEN when I first read the post you linked to :)
I appreciate your honesty and think we'd all be better off if we could stop keeping up appearances and be a little more real with one another. Reading posts like this one make me feel just a bit more normal and realize that we're all in this together and doing the best that we can. You could have stopped with your initial list, but you didn't...and that made all the difference. Thanks for keeping it real...Karen
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