Catching Up with Christ
"A well-run home is a microcosm of sanity in a world
that is plainly mad.
If a home doesn't make sense, nothing does."
----Henrietta Ripperger
I sometimes wonder if it is just me... or just in my
home... where so much
of how we function flows from how our home is being
run at the time. Around
here, a well-run home means much more well run
everything else. When things
fall out of whack and the basic runnings of the home
are thrown off... each
one of us finds ourselves frustrated with rushing
around, needing something,
and missing out in one way or another.
It is surprising how bittersweet grabbing the reigns
back and getting the
horse on track again can be:) In one way... it seems
that it will take more
strength and endurance than we have to get
everything back in place and in
another way... it can start coming together much
quicker than we think it
will!
We are sharing a washer and dryer with my oldest son
and his girlfriend
(long story) and our dryer with my husband's
parents. In order to keep up
with the laundry, I can't miss a day of regular
washing, drying, folding,
and putting away. Waiting for an appliance around
here can be like trying to
weave a basket of clothes through a maze!
I thought it would take days to get caught up when I
faced the blankets,
rugs, towels, and other regular loads in need of
being done. It may be done
far sooner bec/ the more I keep working on it... the
more I think it could
be finished today!
Isn't this the way of life?
Things get placed before us and we stop the usual
routines and/or regular
habits of our days to accommodate those things and
find that when we
"return" ... there is a lot of work. It can seem
hard to get back in our
"groove". Once we get started... it is often
realized that things can get
back in place with maybe less struggle than it
seemed when we first started.
The important part is in the starting back:)
I even have flowers in vases from my daughter's and
niece's hand picked
roses the other day to the $1 sale at Walmart with
bunches of colorful
bouquets. This makes my catching up easier and the
results of getting some
things done nicer!
"Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give
a sense of quiet in a
crowded day."
~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~
Along with catching up can come a need for
restoration of the heart, mind,
body and spirit.
I find that even though we are called to a life of
consistent prayer...
there are times in our lives when even deeper prayer
times are called for.
Specific prayers prayed with not rush to finish and
with time allowed to
listen for God's sweet and beautiful voice.
My aunt came down (she lives two hours from here)
and had another of our
prayer days and we just loved it! We have some
coffee and conversation here
in my home and we leave for a meal out. During our
meal, we'll catch up on
each other's lives and go over what we want to pray
over. We leave our meal
and search out places for prayer. So far, this has
meant in a vehicle at a
store's parking lot, in a school across our street's
parking lot, in my
home, driving down the road, and in the woods behind
my home!
How the LORD blesses us during these times! He
encourages us on and
refreshes our hearts...
Zep 3:14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in
triumph, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of
Jerusalem!
If you can find a prayer partner to pray with as you
can manage it (we will
often go many months between these times) ... it is
so well worth whatever
the trouble to meet may bring. Maybe your situation
keeps this from being a
real possibility right now... use your home as your
sacred prayer place and
have this time alone or with a precious family
member.
Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms.
~William J. Bennett
Zep 3:17 "The LORD your God is in your midst, A
victorious warrior. He will
exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His
love, He will rejoice over
you with shouts of joy.
I am working on so many things right now and
catching up in almost all
areas: Paperwork, housework, financial work, prayer
time, Bible reading,
kitchen duties, correspondence, and much more. God
is helping me along and I
praise Him for that. I wanted to write this simple
letter to wave you on
towards a bright hope yourself... each blessed and
beloved soul in need of
it... for getting beyond any area you might be
catching up in.
From the so simple to the most complicated... we
have a Savior on our side.
Words for the working homemaker --- may she rise
with SONshine right away!
He will help this daughter get her home back in
order... He will be a
sweeter fragrance to her very spirit than any vase
of fresh flowers might
ever provide and HE is her very shelter from ever
storm along the way.
Love in His grace,
Sandy
Copyright © 2005, Sandy Willoughby
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