Lollygagging…

Or Woweegaggin’ in B’s words.

Is the speed at which I have been working to keep up with my ‘job’ the past few weeks. Really, I have been nothing short of pathetic. I’ve justified my apathy by describing my overall feelings of being overwhelmed and frustrated that every time I clean and get the house back in order it would last for about 3 minutes and then be in need of my time and effort all over again.

In all honesty, I’d let most things go, I  apathetically turned on house-keeping cruise control leaving only necessary jobs (like diapering and half hearted meal preparation) to be tackled. I justified my overwhelmed feelings by telling myself… It's really not that bad, and it probably could be worse!?!?!”

Then sweet little A started crawling…and I discovered that her little knees were doing much more dusting and cleaning than I was (It’s true…I humbly admit!)…leaving me wondering just how I could muster the desire or servitude to keep our family’s home clean and somewhat in order?

As I was about to hoist a white flag above our front door in surrender to the dust, the grime and my apathetic heart, I came across a book that some friends of mine have read and recommended and decided to give it a read.

(Image taken from amazon.com)

I am by no means advocating that this is a perfect forever fix (I’m not even all the way through the book yet)…but reading has helped me realign my heart and reminded me of the gift that serving my family is.

Just look at these nuggets of truth…

“Scripture had already told me I was a child of God-born of God. Anything I do is sacred. It may look ordinary from the outside; it may even look mundane and worthless.  The spiritual significance of it is far different. The God-breathed reality is that anything His children do is sacred work-set aside for Him. This caused a revolution in me. I began to see toilet cleaning as a sacred trust. Yes, go ahead and smile. It does look ridiculous on paper, but Scripture had instructed me that whatever I did, I was to do it for God. Toilet cleaning represents the lowest form of labor I do. If it was important to Jesus, it would jolly well become important to me. I decided I would run my home as unto the Lord. My tasks were holy; I would enter them wholly…

The home has replaced the classroom {Her former job} and I began to realize that if I wanted to succeed, I had to work at it with the same dedication and drive I had applied to my teaching job. As a child I had memorized Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will  receive an inheritance from the Lord as  reward." It is the Lord Christ you are serving: This section of the Bible put it all into perspective.  I began to search for the holy in the daily grind. How could I honor the Lord through my daily tasks?

I read 1 Corinthians 14:33 about how the church should conduct its service. The verse called for order, saying, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” I was fascinated with the contrast. Disorder as opposed to peace. The fruit of the Spirit is peace. I wanted a peaceful home. Apparently I need to bring that home in order-in each room, in all of my housekeeping jobs, in our schedules. Order in our home would honor God.”

– Carol Brazo

Wow! I am still marveling at God’s timeliness.   Grateful that He (through the encouragement of friends) allowed me to read Carol’s words at such a drought-like time in my heart. Carol’s heart articulates what I desire. I don’t want to begrudgingly serve or neglect to serve this family that God has so graciously blessed me with…I want to see my tasks…as mundane as they might seem… as acts of service to God Himself.. to quit lollygagging, roll up my sleeves and serve whole heartedly!

I am not promising gourmet meals or an immaculate home but am hopeful for a happier  heart as I clean, dust, scrub, vacuum, cook and launder.

Be blessed.