One would think that the word weekend implies rest. My weekends have never been that. They have been full of sport, chores, and anything that I needed to catch up from the week. Today was no exception. I almost decided that hardwood floors are too much work. I cleaned and then polished mine today. They look beautiful but that was way too much work for such a little shine. I got the laundry done. Only 7 loads today, but that is only because I kept up with it during the week. That is the chore that never ends. I cooked spaghetti for lunch and "arroz con pollo" for dinner. And in my household of boys; cooking is another chore that does not go away.
You may think that I am complaining but, I am not. It brings me joy to "take care of " the people I love. My soul searching self was thinking about the futility of polishing wood floors today as I polished mine. Kind-of like a dream within a dream- I digress. It hit me as I was practicing my best karate kid imitations (wax-on/wax off) - What if I gave up on the things that mattered to me because it was too much work for such little reward? I realize that most people don't ponder on such deep things while doing housework but I figured since I was on my knees I should take the opportunity to multitask..a little praying, a little waxing, a little cup of coffee- then repeat. So I spent most of my time thinking on just that. What if-
What if- I gave up on my children because parenting is difficult and there is absolutely no reward for you personally?
Because I believe if you are parenting correctly-it is all about who they will become- you should have already "become". Just like my floors- waxing is no fun and it is hard work ( I might be a little sore tomorrow). But if I give up and only go at it half-ass- that is the result I will have. I don't know about you but I don't want kids that have been raised half heatedly because it was too hard. I want my kids to know I will never give up on them because I want them to shine. I want them to shine because they are a reflection of God's love. I want them to become brilliant men of God, not an image of me.
What if I took short cuts with my friendships because I did not have time to do it right?
So many times I have run my friends away because I wanted a quick fix- I wanted it to be easy and the moment it wasn't I walk away. Just like the laundry I have done- I have given into the proverbial "man load"- you know the one. Get as much stuff as you can get in the wash and only cold water. While, everything goes through the cycle, not everything comes out 100 % clean. There is no room for movement. Here comes the deep though!: We make out lives so busy, so full of "activities" that we can't move to the things that matter. It matters to spend time with the ones you love.
What if I failed to nuture faith, hope and most importantly love?
I like cooking, I particularly like baking. Many times it seems that I cook just to turn around and do it all again in three hours and then again and again and again. I can see such a clear connection between food for the body and food for the soul. Follow along now: You get a recipe and you follow it and amazingly enough it works. I have a pretty old recipe book (the bible). While my confection is in the oven I hope that it will taste good and in some cases I just hope that it will work (prayer). I have to be patient (I still don't like this one) and then I serve it and most times - It is good. I cook (I am pretty good at it)-what I want everyone to know is that there is always some love in it. I do believe it makes it taste better.
Tonight- it was arroz con pollo with some lovely Godly women- the kind of girls I want for my boys (much,much later in life). Girlies--thank you for letting me feed you tonight. Please know that whether you are in the classroom or at my dinner table you are loved!
This is long tonight- consider it my Sunday morning sermon- Seriously though. This cancer thing and the unknown is making me nervous, I like the chores and I value the lessons they teach us. I am afraid that soon I will not be able to do the little things that matter. I am sure however that God will use the "down time" to teach me something new.
No comments:
Post a Comment