I don't know what's going on this week, but I can't seem to accomplish anything. My house...my poor, poor house. I cannot keep it clean. Forget keep, I can't even get it clean. I can't quite figure out why. And the Christmas decorating? Yeah. The tree is done, but the other decorations are just sitting in various locations, wherever I happened to set them as I unpacked them from their boxes. The nativity is up, thanks to my husband, but it has a tea light lamp, a stained glass nativity, three candleholders, and a ceramic church - not to mention a pitcher of dried flowers, a wrench, and a piece of plastic - in front of it. Normally Christmas decorating comes naturally to me. That's not to say that it necessarily looks good, but it is something that I enjoy and that I do quickly. Not this year. I stare at a surface and then at a pile of decorations, and I cannot make the two work together. The Advent wreath that Janene made for me a few years ago is up, and it has a calming effect. It is such a good reminder that I am not awaiting the arrival of my family or the giving of gifts or even the unlikely event of me getting my act together. I am awaiting the arrival of my King. And when He arrives, I want to be ready. Being ready has nothing to do with the neatness of my house or the appealing arrangement of ornaments or the number of things crossed off my to-do list. It has everything to do with this:
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
That's what I really want to do this season. Spread the Word. Treasure and ponder "these things". Glorify and praise God for all He has revealed.
Somehow, after writing this, my house doesn't seem so messy, my to do list so long, or my decorations so important. Hmm.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
The Reason
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2 comments:
You know, I read recently (I think it was "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, for Families - it was sitting in the local bakery) that keeping house is like painting the Golden Gate bridge. Apparently they paint the Golden Gate bridge every day of the year. Just when they finally finish, its time to start painting it again at the other end. The author said keeping house is like that - just when you get the dishes done, there are more to do, or there's laundry to do, etc etc. This thought made me feel a little better, I guess. :)
Thanks for the encouragement! It is sometimes hard to remember that housekeeping is not a one-time project, but a cyclical task that will always, always be there. I used to want to have my house perfectly clean just once - to have absolutely no housework to do, even if just for a day. I've since realized that this is an impossible dream (without hiring many people to help). There is no way I could finish the whole house without one of the early finished tasks needing to be done again. I like the Golden Gate Bridge analogy.
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