Today, we attended church in Greenville, IL. It was refreshing to attend a service and just be able to show up. It's been five years for us in full-time ministry and I can probably count on my hands the amount of Sundays we've been able to go to church without either one of us having responsibilities. Now, we really enjoy what we have chosen to dedicate our lives to. We love ministry and truly believe that it is what God wants us to do, but it's also nice to partake in worship from a different perspective once in a while. After the service was over, we chatted a bit and then headed home - a four hour car ride with both of the boys. This is not our idea of a good time (I mean the car ride with the children), but it's the only way to get from A to B! Fortunately, they were both really tired and slept for part of the trip. The other part I spent in the back seat, shielding sun out of their eyes, holding the laptop so #1 could watch a movie, feeding #2 a bottle, etc. I was so glad to finally make it home!
When we walked in the door, there was the house, just as we had left it. No magic cleaning fairy had visited our home while we were gone. And of course, the boys didn't want to just sit quietly while Mommy unpacked, did laundry, made dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. In the midst of #1 asking me to sit with him at the table while I was trying to do laundry, I was reminded of the sermon we heard this morning.
Today, we were called to learn or remember how to pray. The pastor talked about using the instruments at our disposal - our eyes, our hands, our voices and our time and energy to pray. That last thing - time and energy - really rang in my ears today. It's as if when he said that God just asked me, "Bekki, what have you been worrying about lately? what has been getting your time and energy, because it's not me." Yikes. He was totally right (can you expect any different from the One who created us?). My mind would do better dwelling on things other than worrying about a clean house or making sure my children are quiet and well behaved. If you know my children you may wonder if that is something that I really spend time thinking about and trying to achieve since #1 is always making noise of some sort and rarely sits still! (He is a really good kid though. He's just very energetic!) There are plenty of things that distract us from what should truly be our focus. I'm going to strive to spend more of my time and energy in prayer and meaningful duties. Sometimes this will happen while I'm cleaning, but tonight, it was in time spent with my oldest son, making him laugh, giving him hugs and kisses, singing, wrestling and just having fun, that I started to regain my perspective. Hopefully tomorrow will be another step in the right direction.
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