That's What His Kids Do
Our son just got married. He and his beautiful wife moved to BC and we helped drive a van load of belongings to their new place. We unpacked, said our goodbyes and headed home. Great trip, five days, hearts full, and now home.
Around me are piles of things. Some are leftovers from our son’s move, some are dishes left on the counter before leaving, laundry baskets that were rifled through in order to pack and the pre-wedding week prep that reveals an ironing board, gift wrap, packing tape, receipts, odds and ends and a Christmas tree.
I’m so grateful I was able to attend the wedding AND accompany my husband on the ‘belongings’ transport to BC. My health issues don’t usually cooperate with travel but this trip went really well and aside from one migraine and one bad batch of abdominal pain, I was good!
However, it only took about an hour after arriving at home for the piles of stuff and the mental to-do lists to start adding up. The theme of January and fresh starts and productivity hit me like a hammer. I mentioned this to my husband as we passed through the kitchen and asked him to talk some sense into me. “Give me a pep talk!” I asked. He reminded me that I probably need to recover from the trip more than I need to get working. He reminded me to be gracious to myself and take it slow.
So I made coffee, grabbed my journal and Bible, lit a candle, plugged in my heating pad, grabbed a blanket and curled up into the corner of the couch. I read these words about the heart of God in Isaiah 30.
“Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me—”
Settling down . . . in complete dependence.
I know this passage is about another story, but those words . . .
I put down my journal and thought for a moment. I looked around the living room, and the piles of stuff. What if I settled down, in complete dependence, regarding all elements of my life, including transitioning out of a busy season into a new one. What would that look like? And what about the mess that is going on in the rest of the world, in my city and all over the news? Everywhere I look, I see that mess too.
I suppose it will look different for each one of us, but here are a few ideas that I’m thinking about . . .
If I lived in a settled down way, in complete dependence on God . . . my pace would be slower than I naturally would want it to be. It would include thoughtfulness about each task and perhaps each item that gets put back into place. It would include gratefulness for why the house became that way and I would enjoy the memories of the busy season we just came through. I would take breaks to rest and be okay with mess around me, including all the messes of the world that are out of my control. Each task would not be greater than the relational aspects of our home and perfection would not be the goal. Even though I would naturally want to start the new year with things in place and a routine that works and a carefully designed calendar and schedule, I would understand that this moment, right now, in the midst of mess is a holy one where I am in the presence of God.
I think, if I imagine what it would be like to be a daughter in God’s house, that’s what I would do, I think that’s what His kids would do. Everything else gets figured out after that.
Happy New Year friends.😊