Tedious Tends to Happen

NOTE TO SELF: It’s better than chaos.

We all know those jobs that seem to never end. You feel like you are vacuuming that same spot over and over again. You feel like you are making a bed just a few hours before you will get into it and mess it up again. You are cloroxing the high chair from breakfast, and it’s just getting ready for lunch. Okay, maybe you don’t feel this way, BUT I DO! I can’t even begin to tell you the depression I can fall into when I feel like my job (the one I supremely love by the way, I mean that honestly) at home is not really accomplishing anything. Sometimes I feel only moments ahead of the chaos, and like if I miss a single step everything might fall into insanity. I am pretty crazy when it comes to cleaning/organizing. God knows (Lord, only You do!) the degree to which an orderly home (and orderly life in every other way) brings me peace and satisfaction – and I dare say, oftentimes also becomes an idol. I want it so badly, with my lists and clipboards, and retractable sharpies (I am still secretly hoping my husband will buy me a label-maker someday:) that I often despair of life as those around me who do not share this obsession (and are normal, healthy people by the way) get their “crumbs” in my path. With a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, you can imagine who at least two of these people are. My husband is incredibly balanced in this issue. He is, ahem, how shall we say, “organizationally challenged” – I love you honey! No, he does not share my need for labels. He, on the other hand, can have a stack of papers completely disorganized, and this brings to his world more sanity than a file perfectly categorized. You can probably already imagine, we are a perfect fit. He tames my insanity, and I get the pleasure of being married to a man who truly cares more about my happiness and the happiness/training/loving/nurturing/feeding/and teaching of our children than anything in the house being done. So much so, that he would rather do the housework for me than have the other things be left undone. And today, amidst my discouragement at cleaning the same crumbs off the same table, wondering if my life as homemaker will ever amount to anything of organizational value, I had this VERY simple thought: I’d rather clean this table AGAIN, than have it dirty. I know, maybe it just doesn’t seem that life changing to you yet, and maybe it never will. But I realized, if it is between me “just doing it” again, or it staying a mess all day-every day since it will be again anyway, I’d rather keep doing it, and live a life of discipline, and set that example for my children. Sure, my kids will plop back into their beds just 3-6 hours after jumping out of it for nap time (depending on the crankiness!), but if they can learn the discipline of hard work (with awesome benefits) and maintaining orderliness in the life God has given to them, it is worth it. If it instills in them the understanding that messes get made, but so what (and DON’T have a FREAK-OUT like mom), we clean them up when we can (and we can even make it fun!), it is way worth it. Sure, shoes will probably be used more than once in a day, but having them all in front of the door makes it hard to walk around, and could cause an accident, and further chaos. Yeah, the high chair is gonna get dirty again in another 3 hours, but hey, cleaning up the mess now so my sweetie can have a clean table without food particles from the last meal just shows common courtesy! I hope I am not discouraging you, I mean to do the opposite. I feel (personally) all of the troubles in a day (and Jesus tells us there are plenty) are much more manageable if we stay on top of things, and treat each task (especially the tedious) as just another way to “clear the path” for us to walk with Christ. I speak from experience in one way – when I suffered my miscarriage, our house happened to be completely chaotic and disorderly at the time. The suffering I was going through emotionally was only heightened by all of the chaos around us. And the attitude that it will just get dirty again so why bother at all, leads to a dirty house, TRUST me. I am one of those scary people who actually DOES believe cleanliness is next to Godliness, lol! Ah, Lord God help me. Anywho, as you try to maintain order in your home, love your husband and your children first, and when time permits, even though you just did it, wipe it again.

Your friend,

Rachel