Someone, who really means well, has said on a few occasions, "if you try bleach and soap and scrub really hard, those stains should come out. " or "have you tried a magic erase marker on your walls? It should touch them up nicely." or "I dont have problems getting those stains off my pots and pans, maybe you should try this.. " Drives me nuts.
I mean, she means well but really does not help my insecurity of a messy house! Realistically, I don't have time to touch up my hallways, and make special science experiment cleaners for the craters on my dishes and clothes. Not when I'm trying to parent two VERY active children. I'm not Martha Stewart, Ms. Housewife of the year, THANK GOD! I'm just Nicole with a messy home, trying to keep focus on God's truths.
A friend's mom came over a while ago. I naturally had a messy house, unfinished projects laying around everywhere. I apologized for the mess, beginning to sound like a broken record. She instantly said, "Your house should look like this, dear. You are raising children and you are doing a great job. You are focused on what's important."
The unfinished project I apologized for, our unfinished painted deck. HA!
This verse is gold for me:
Two things here that get me:
1. LOOK UP- see things from Christ's perspective.
2. ACT LIKE IT
I have had a rough couple days. A rotten attitude, short fused, also that time of the month. Ugh sucks. I've been absorbed and focused on silly things in front of me. Really silly, I mean like -mulch the garden, paint the hallway/kitchen, hang up pictures. This is stuff that I really enjoy doing but this week I feel pressured to do them because my son's 2nd birthday celebration is this Saturday. AH! People are coming over. EEEEK! And, I want to appear to have it all together. This is nonsense, silly.
If I'm really agreeing with Christ, I would shout it out that "I DON'T HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER"...
And, that's okay!
Loud active children, messy counters, in the background the laundry room is throwing up dirty clothes!
I got a call a few weeks ago about faxing a copy of our medical insurance to my car insurance, so rates would remain lower. Well I FINALLY called back today to talk to a representative. While I'm trying to talk to her, my son is screaming his head off. She says, "ma'am can you remove your screaming child from the phone?" I wanted to say, "sure let me go lock him in the laundry room really quick" -? Really? I was so irritated. She was just doing her job, and couldn't hear me. My initial reaction was wanting to hang up. Thankfully, I didn't. The irritations were getting to me. But keeping focus, I realized that:
....THIS IS LIFE. LIFE IS MESSY, LIFE IS LOUD.... I can't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of me. I need to look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ, because that is where the action is!
Where there is "action" there is life, and no room for fretting over a messy home.
floor shot: play dough, chip droppings and hair. Yep, gross!
Mom's don't feel guilty about a messy home, Keep looking UP!
