I'm flunking home maintenance. I fell off the wagon in early December more or less, and thoroughly lost it around Christmas. My goal is to get things under control and running well by February 1. I hate stepping over junk and working around the mess. It's wound down so much that the laundry is mixed and people can't find their socks and underwear. Inconvenient.
So what? This is what God says: get up and engage with your life. So that's the way of faith for me. I've strayed from it, and I'm going to be paying the piper for a while. The truth: God loves me and is with me and I can do all things through Christ, and his ways are good.
It is time to examine our family activities for the coming season. I need to think about what we need and not over commit. I will probably do mini school with our homeschool group--something relating to legos.
The biggest thing I would like to see our family grow in this season is Giving and Helping. Starting with me.
I really don't "get" serving. Our lack of church attendence has provoked accusations from relatives that we aren't "serving." That puzzles me. If I went to church, I'd need to pull my weight by assisting with childcare. That doesn't really strike me as serving: I'm bringing five out of fifty kids, if I do 10% of the childcare, that's giving? I don't think so. Why is that better than just lowering the workload by five kids? I could sing on the worship team--is that serving? I love to sing, that would be like a hobby. My prayer would be that my lack of skill wouldn't detract from worship. That doesn't seem like serving to me. I could help direct traffic. I could teach a class, but I don't see how that would ever happen--can't think of a pastor in his right mind that would let me. And if I did, I don't see how it would be service--I love teaching. It oozes out of me unbidden. Doesn't require me "dying to myself", it's what my "self" does. When it comes to church, I have no idea how traditional ideas about serving fit.
At home, however, service makes a vast amount of sense. There are endless and constant chances to lay down my life and serve in invisible ways. I'm missing at least six at this very moment, in fact.
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2 comments:
I agree that service starts at home and should be our FIRST priority.
Too many people neglect their family in order to serve others. My 3 kids and husband comes first and they take tons of time and prayer and effort, but I DO have some time to give. Not a lot, but some! I don't think service is about me, about feeling like I'm sacrificing or dying to self or not, I think it's about how what I do affects the lives of others. I enjoy singing in the church choir too. I don't necessarily think of it as service, but people have come up to me later and told me that the music made them happy and they really enjoyed listening to it. Other things I do, I don't enjoy, like serving in our church nursery for the last 14 years. I do it to give other people a break, so they can drop their kids off and worship without having to be distracted. If I don't do it, someone else has to. Or meals. Cooking and making meals for others is not something I enjoy either but I sure do remember how wonderful it was and how it ministered to me after I had my kids and people brought me meals...so I do it for others to lighten their load. Sometimes I take older people to the grocery store because they can't on their own or I clean a house or...well you get the idea. God knows my heart. Even if I like what I'm doing, He can see WHY I'm doing it. It doesn't have to be through a church, but for me, the church just makes it easy to find the needs. I don't have to spend the time to "find" ways to serve. I'm just made aware of the needs and do what I can when I can. But I love my church and agree with the teaching. We wouldn't be there if we didn't. I don't think you should go to a church just to find ways to serve. Is that what you're talking about? Sorry for rambling on like that!
Oh, BTW, you said your goal for "getting back on top of things" in your house was Feb. 1. Are you going to make it? I don't think there will ever be one single time when my entire house is clean and organized at the same time. I clean one area, but another is messy. I organize one drawer, but the drawer I organized last month is messy again. You get the idea!
Sniz, thank you for the comment! I hope you come back and read this response. I write this blog in large part because I'm thirsty for dialogue, and your comments mean a lot to me.
I totally agree with church being a great "clearinghouse of needs." That is one of the reasons I don't really know how to integrate that kind of serving into our life--we are isolated from those needs to a large degree. We get in on some chances by being on the edges, but the most intimate needs are shared with the ones with whom you are intimate, you know? I can't do much for someone in crisis that I barely know. I bring a meal, send a card, send money if I have it--but very little for the most part. I wish I had more of those chances--more friends like that.
The problem is, I don't agree with ANY church. But I think I could be okay in any number of places if it weren't for how much church distresses my hubby.
We went to a gathering last night, and the kids and I had a great time. It was a social gathering, we met new people and played games, came home happy. My husband just feels stabs of not belonging. Believes their ideas and beliefs will inevidably lead to pain and destruction and doesn't want to "go there" with them. Feels powerless to help. Doesn't see what he can give or receive. Just feels "outside" and deeply, deeply wounded by it. I don't know what to do with that. I don't want to go to church without him. I don't want to go to church with him. I don't want to go to church just to complain. I don't want to "date" a body--I want to get married, and stay with them for life, you know? But when my eyes see all these problems...it's like all my marriage prospects are nice guys with closet drug habits and anger issues! Hard to be a "marrying kind a girl" with that dating pool, if you know what I mean.
I haven't done the greatest job getting our home together by Feb. 1. I've settled that we will have a bedtime and get up time, and done that for two days. And we put away our Christmas stuff. It's going to take a few more days until the maintenance time will be enough to prevent chaos. Maybe more. But I think getting up will be a huge help. Thanks for asking. :-)
God is Good.
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