February 25, 2013
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{monday life}
there’s a bottle of comet and a can of scrubbing bubbles that sat on my bathroom counter all weekend.
i never touched it because i didn’t have time, but didn’t want to put it away just in case i did.this morning, like most mornings, i woke with my running list of to-do’s scrolling through my mind before my eyes even opened..
cleaning bathrooms at the top. along with a dozen other things that just had to get done today!instead. this stomach flu that won’t quite seem to fully leave had me back in bed..
and my 2 year old making a playground around me of books and dolls and toy pots and pans and plastic food.i found myself irritated that the day wasn’t going as planned. nothing getting done.
i didn’t have time to be sick! what mom ever does?
or to sit around playing connect four with reese all day!
then i read this.“the great thing if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own’ or ‘real’ life…
the truth is of course that what one calls interruptions are precisely one’s real life -
the life God is sending you day by day.” c.s. lewis
i felt conviction and comfort all at the same time.“the life GOD is sending…”
man! how i lose sight of that.
that, wait a minute.. there’s a whole other plan here besides mine.
and what? it’s not about getting it all done and crossing off every box on our endless to-do lists?it’s about pouring into the eternal souls around us.
even if we do it laying flat on our back in bed, playing connect four.
and suddenly the irritating “interruptions” of my day become a little more plain for what they are –
His wise love forming me. changing me. giving me eyes beyond myself.
Comments (39)
Good post. Sounds sort of like some of the little discussions my sister and I have some times. We pray and ask God to order our lives and direct our paths. Then on the way to work, we complain about the little granny driving in front of us, just poking along. Doesn’t she realize we have to be at work in ten minutes? And the poky old homeless man who seems to take all day crossing the street, blocking the cars in front of us so we can’t get on through the red light, the lunch sack we realize is still sitting on the counter at home, the boss who came in early today and greeted us with a last minute, urgent request when our day was already planned. Mumble, grumble. Then a little light comes on, oh, yes, we did ask God to order our steps and lead us. Lessons to be learned in patience, faithfulness in letting our light shine regardless of circumstances, grace to be kind to all.
You reminded me so well. God has a very specific purpose for our lives each and every day, whether a lesson for us to grow, or for our lives to be a reflection of God’s love. If we just remember who is leading and let his will be done. Lord, open my heart and remind me once again of your plan and your grace in time of need. Thanks for the reminder.
great reminder!
@hananielsgirl - HEY!!! i was just thinking of you… cause we ate indian food.
)) missYOU.
I’m so sorry you are still sick! If I have to be sick, I always pray it will be ANYTHING but the stomach flu! Just bless your heart, that’s all I can say!!
I really appreciate the quote – it speaks to my heart.
Praying you get well very soon!
That is such an important lesson to learn! I still remember one evening when my oldest kept calling and calling me to come out to the porch, but I wanted to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen first. When I finally went out, I ask her what it was she wanted me to see. She said, “Mommy, it was a BEAUTIFUL sunset! But, it’s all gone now.” I was so sad and ashamed. Spending time with those we love is more important than a clean, shiny kitchen! (or bathroom!)
Oh! And I do hope you are feeling better today. Ugh! Those viruses can really be cruel!
Sorry you’re sick…that flu is horrible and no fun. It took a couple of days to get over it.
Great quote! Hope you feel better soon…Beautiful pictures!
Amen! And I hope you are feeling better today. We had a week like that last week…only it was bad colds, not stomach stuff.
Once again you’re trying to be all cool with your sickness. Rubbing it in that you’ve had it MORE than once now.
I hope that you were able to get some rest. And I hope that the wise love that forms you today is a little less yucky.
thank you for the reminder that i SO needed today! sorry about the flu, my friend <3
@sewnitter - oh, i loved what you shared! it blessed and encouraged my heart today because yes.. i think i was already forgetting what He just showed me yesterday.
thanks for stopping by~
@pettybunch - feeling better today. thanks! xo and ugh.. i’m so with you. i’ll take ANY kind of flu but the stomach one. :/
@DanishDoll - YES! all the sunsets i’ve missed in life because i was too busy DOING!!!!
@Elizabethmarie_1 - well.. according to beth we’re all just copy catting each other, trying to see who can be the “sickest.”
) i think i’m ready to let someone else win now though! haha.
@LadyoftheManse - it seems to have been a rough winter for flu bugs~ a friend of mine that’s a nurse said the er has been packed! i say, COME ON SUMMER TIME and HEAT!!!!
)
@aSeriesofFortunateEvents - oh, i know. i missed the attention that i got from it all last week!
)
hey.. you ready for DD tomorrow night?? season premiere!!! woot~
)
@perrypatch - i feel I needed the reminder again today too. :/ it’s the forever battle of learning to balance it all. the whole mary/ martha thing. i KNOW it’s more needful to sit at His feet.. but yeah, that brown ring in my toilet isn’t going to clean itself!
) thanks for stopping by girl.. always love hearing from you!
Such a great reminder. This is one that is really tough for me, because I am just like you (and many others, I am sure) with that constant “To Do List” running in my head!!
Amen! It’s a beautiful thing to take changes in plans and give God the glory in them…..to enjoy the way He weaves the tapestry of our lives.
Love the pictures, and I hope that you are feeling better today. I’ve had a bad cold all weekend and am very happy to be able to stay away from the tissue box a little more today.
smiling. Guess God was showing me the same thing here lately. Just posted, then reading a few subscriptions and like all of everything was saying “keep eternal mindset.”
love that blue-ish color
I need to get reminded of that over and over … that interruptions are not interruptions. They only appear that way in my selfish mind. So sorry you’ve been sick. Stomach flu is the worst kind and the kind that really makes the bathrooms scream for scrubbing bubbles. Gah! Hope y’all are all better soon.
Hope you feel better!
I have been thinking along the same lines as well. Praying for grace to accept what He gives, whatever that is, each day. AS you were saying in a comment to someone it is difficult to balance the upkeep of home and the various things we’re responsible for without becoming consumed by them and losing our eternal perspective. I am thankful God gives us reminders and is so merciful to draw us back to Himself. May your heart relax during this time and your body heal quickly. That bathroom’s not going anywhere!
hope you feel better!
love the quote -so good for me to hear right now!
This might sound a bit off topic but your blog is simply beautiful. And its not just style that makes it that way
sorry about the sickness! but glad for beauty you found.
feel better soon! good quote!
Oh my gosh I am so stealing that quote than you so much it is haut what I’ve been thinking about and needed! Hope u all get better soon
ahh sure hope you are feeling better. What a great quote and great reminder!
I love that quote and a great reminder!
Such beautiful colors going on in those pictures! Those tulips remind me that spring is almost here!
Hope you are all feeling better by now. It is totally TIME for some spring weather!!! So, ready!
@resolved2worship - mmm. love when God seems to be reiterating a message to me from all directions! read your post and yes, felt the same. this part especially – “Let go and find balance; bravery to feel undone, unmade, un-accomplished. Then always, my eyes are opened more to what is important because I am less distracted with making everything happen just right.” amen!! the bravery of being okay with ME. messes and all!
now, off to float my river!
))
@trunthepaige - aw. thank you so much!
@bakersfarm - ”merciful to draw us back…” YES!
i hope you all are better and stay better now!
you’re such an inspiration…even in your sickness.
love!
that c.s. lewis is so wise.
and so are these words, “…His wise love forming me. changing me. giving me eyes beyond myself.
rest…”
i needed both quotes on this day— with {Thursday life.}
hope that you and everyone are feeling way better by now!
here’s to hugs long distance for friends. and scrubbing bubbles for our bathrooms.
almost bought tulips in the store today, then changed my mind ~ they were sooooo SPRING!
I love that Lewis quote. I have, many times, tried to convey that sentiment to the drivers I train. Many guys have the notion that when they come to work, their “real” life stops and is set aside ’til they get back home. We all chose this profession for some reason, and it is just as much a part of our life as is our time with our family, so I try to convince them that it is worthwhile to take some care, do their job well and spend a few minutes building relationships with the managers and employees of the stores we service. That quote just put into words the idea I try to teach.
Tulips are one of my wife’s favorites, but she likes when I bring her the whole plant, so she can enjoy them again after she replants the bulbs.
Interesting that the lesson I try to teach new employees at work is one that I could learn from at home.
As always, enjoyed your post and I hope the sickness is done with you and your house.
this is sooooooo good:
“the great thing if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own’ or ‘real’ life…
the truth is of course that what one calls interruptions are precisely one’s real life -
the life God is sending you day by day.” c.s. lewis
THANK YOU <3