On Keeping House...

We dropped off dinner at a friend's house this afternoon whose family has a new little one. We showed up unannounced. I called before I came over but the phone kept ringing. My friend must be napping I thought. I brought a cooler in the car just in case they were not at home so I could leave dinner on the porch. When we got to her home I noticed the garage door was open. I approached the door to the house. Surely the alarm was not on in the middle of the day. I opened the door quietly saying, "Hello....."

Since my friend was not expecting me, she homeschools, and just had her sixth baby I quickly noticed the state of the kitchen...the lunch food was still out, the dirty dishes were on the counters, it looked as if the baby had fallen asleep and she had said to her children, "Quick, everyone go upstairs for reading and quiet time so mommy can take a nap while the baby is asleep."

Oh, what a gift for me to see another mother's house in disarray! When my friend came out of her bedroom I told her I was sorry I woke her and that I came over unannounced. Before she had a chance to say anything about her house I told her it was good to see her house looked like mine!

The good news about moms who school/live/play and constantly eat in their homes is we see and share our grief about keeping house with one another and what the latest tip is from "FLYlady!" We get one another through those, "I think I am going crazy" moments and as my friends Sally and Diana remind me that it is in these chaotic moments that we have the opportunity to crawl up into God's lap and say, "Help, I need you..." How smart our God is to not take away our struggles and allow us to call upon Him...

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
-Matthew 11:29

For our dear husbands, the bad news about the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome :) is that they do not see the grief other families have going on in their homes and assume the chaos is just on our block and in our house.

I try to politely remind my dear husband that if he wants the kitchen counter cleared off, invite someone over...

and my favorite quote on balance I am always striving for...

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy.
~Author Unknown