Gimme a Break!

This is a post I typed up yesterday ... just so you don't get confused. :)

As I sat last night in the big kids' room, settling in to read a chapter from the mystery book we are working through, I had to move aside a discarded clothing hanger, clear away a couple dozen miscellaneous Lego pieces (mainly heads), re-shelve a handful of books, stuff a couple of abandoned empty ziplock bags back in their home and gather up several necklaces and add them to the random assortment of odds and ends on the kids' table.

After reading, I headed downstairs to tidy up the family room:  putting away the lonely shoe, collecting an odd assortment of Legos (previously a ship, I think), gather up two pom-poms and their exploding parts and deposit a conglomeration of doll paraphernalia in the toy bin.

Finally, I took a few minutes to clear part of the dining room table of the random library books, a sweatshirt, craft paper and ... you guessed it, the rubble remains of a Lego plane.

My kids have been pollinating again and it's kinda driving me nuts!  You fellow parents know how it goes.  Your kid plays with something, gets distracted by another toy, drops the first and moves on to the next.  At some point, another toy catches her eye and she abandons the second toy to play with the third.  Eventually, yet another prized possession draws her attention and before you know it there are a half dozen toys rejected and deserted and dropped.  Right there.  In the middle of the floor.  Then, if you multiply that pollination by the number of kids you have in your home ... aaaahHHH!  Your house looks like a tornado went through it.  Twice!  My home has a bit of a neglected look to it and I want to put the kids to work whipping it back into shape ... but not today.

And that's just the kids' stuff.  :)  Brett and I have a little problem area in our kitchen that also drives me a bit batty.  Actually it's two areas.  One countertop is where we put the mail we don't want to throw out yet, or papers, magazines, flyers that we don't know what to do with.  The other countertop is the stuff we know we need to keep, but don't have a plan for.  The first countertop is partially camouflage by the basket holding our fabric napkins.  The second countertop actually has two handy organizers that are currently drowning in receipts, bills, oversized envelopes, notebooks, a new GPS gizmo (and it's packaging), a camera and a battery charger.  Both of these areas need some serious attention and I have full intentions of attacking them ... but not today.

My dining room table is currently Halloween Costume Central.  Yesterday the kids and I went shopping for fabric and accessories for their costumes.  I spent some time yesterday working on a few parts and I feel only a little overwhelmed with the prospect of getting the rest of it finished.  Yes ... I officially have 21 days before the costumes need to be ready, but still I am feeling a little nuts about adding more to my daily schedule.  I really should at least sit down and cut out the patterns ... but not today.

Why not today?  Because it's Sunday and today is supposed to be the one day of the week that I take a break.  Take a breather.  Take a rest.  But how?

I actually told the kids last night that we were going to "go at it" today and get the house back in some semblance of order before the week started.  I told Brett last night that I wanted to tackle the kitchen counters and that I would leave him a stack of his own papers to sort.  I also spent sometime last night mentally going through the next costume tasks and had lined up a plan of attack.  I also typically take time on Sunday to make up meals for the week and compile my grocery list. I also wanted to write a bit and get ahead for my posts this week.  Hmmmmm ... it's not sounding very restful, is it?

Then, as I was updating my dry-erase board calendar, I came across my standing entry for Sunday:  Rest.  As I sat at the kitchen table after church, looking at that word ... Rest ... I had a little wrestling match with God.  How exactly am I supposed to rest when my to-do list is so long?  How exactly am I supposed to rest when there are deadlines to be met?  How exactly am I supposed to rest when it feels like if I stop, I'll never get caught up?  Rest .... Rest ... Rest.  "Alright, God.  I'm listening."

At this point, God brought to mind that last two devotionals that Brett and I read together.  As we settled into bed last night and the night before, our reading was focused on the Sabbath.  The passage from the Bible was Genesis 2:3, "Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."  The God of the universe, took a break.  Took a breather.  Took a rest.  He had worked, He had created, He had made and then He took time to rest.  Now if the the Creator of the world felt that it was appropriate and necessary to be recharged by rest on a regular basis, why in the world would I think that little old me could go non-stop?  It really is quite ridiculous. :)  But God knows that about me ... and loves me anyway!

God knows me inside and out and He knows my limits and my abilities.  He knows that I'm a go-getter, a get-er-doner, a just-keep-at-it-gal.  He knows that I feel better about me when I'm productive and have something to show for my time and efforts.  He knows that I have a tendency to run myself all the way to empty ... and then just a little bit further.  He knows that I have trouble being still.  But, He also knows that I can't be all "go" all the time.  My body, mind and spirit need to rest.  So there I was ... sitting with a list a mile long and a simple choice to make.  Rest or Work?

I took a deep breath ... looked at the piled-high countertops and the toy bins brimming over with homeless gadgets ... and said, "Okay, God.  I'll rest.  But I'm going to need Your help."  I believe that He will help me to get done the necessary jobs around the house ... tomorrow.  And I believe that He will help me come to terms with the stuff that doesn't get done.  But more than anything, I believe that He will bless me for my obedience to rest.  I don't know how, but I'll know it when I see it.

Now I'm off to read a bit ... with my feet up ... and I might even take a minute to doze.  Tomorrow will be the day to work, but today ... it's a time to rest.

But first ... I need to get Norah set up to finger-weave.  Flash-backs to childhood ensue! :)