Do What You Know

On Monday morning I awoke with a combination of excitement and a bit of dread. We were getting back into our normal routine, and I was ready to face it. Our family operates so much better with the routine! The house stays less cluttered with much less effort. Not totally clean, mind you, but the tasks are much less overwhelming. When the clutter is managed, the kids play better. All of us are less anxious and are much calmer. That's just the way we are.

Well, the past month we've managed to somewhat stay in routine, but not totally. Then last week all bets were off, which is perfectly normal and understood for the week of Christmas! But, now we were ready.

So, what was the dread? Well, the girls for the past month or so have really not wanted to get up and going in the mornings. They have taken an hour just to get dressed and make their beds, such that it seems like it's been a battle each morning just to get going! I really wasn't looking forward to more of that. So, I was praying. I was asking the Lord for a solution. What did He tell me? Do what I've already told you to do!

Huh? Haven't we been trying to mostly stay in our routine, Lord?

Well, have you been getting up on time, or sleeping until right before the kids get up?

Well....

You have entered each day harried, not at peace. The kids pick up on that.

True...okay, well, I'm up this morning, so here's to doing what I know!

And it worked! The morning went so well! We still have to light a fire under the girls to keep them moving, but when we're going strong, they pick up on that. We're doing what we know to do, and God is blessing it.

This applies in so many areas, and we are seeing His hand in them all! Finances are tight - especially when our renters are late getting the rent check to us. So, we tithe and pray. And all is well! The end of the month, and the need for a new month's worth of menus and a nice, big grocery shopping trip rolls around. So, we prayerfully evaluate what's in our freezer and pantry, plan the new month's worth of menus, and discover that somehow, incredibly, God has already provided most of the groceries we need for the coming month! How, I don't know, but He has supplied "according to His riches in glory!" The front bathroom door decides to no longer be useful. So, in advance God supplies a huge inventory of material from which to choose for making a heavy curtain to hang in the place of the disabled door.

I think it really was exemplified to me through my sweet Olivia the other day. Olivia does well in math, but she doesn't necessarily like it. Counting by 2's, 5's, 9's, and 10's is fine, but what is the point of learning to count by 3's, 4's, 6's, 7's, and 8's? And all of those pesky addition facts - some days they just seem so tedious! We have worked so hard to be diligent with those things, but it's hard when there seems to be no reason.

Then Christmas came. For Christmas Olivia received an educational toy that adds some creativity to learning those pesky multiplication tables. The timing was just perfect since we started the multiplication concept in school on Monday! She sat down with her toy and said, "Mommy! Multiplication is like counting by ________ (fill in the blank with the number of your choice)!" Suddenly it became worthwhile to have done all of those drills and to have been diligent even when we both wanted to pull our hair out!

God doesn't ask us to be diligent in mundane tasks for no reason. In Luke 19 there is the parable of the talents where faithfulness in such things is rewarded immensely, but lack of faithfulness results in a loss of everything.

I know this post is seeming to ramble, but I do have a point! God has given us certain instructions. Some of them have been taught to us in church from childhood. Some of them have be given to us personally regarding the way God wants us to guide our own families. Whatever the case, many of these things seem exhausting, never-ending, and mundane, like keeping a daily routine at home so that we can get a load of laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away only to be faced with an overflowing hamper once again! Others seems pointless, like the dull monotony of going through addition facts over and over again. But, God wants to bless our obedience in the mundane, and he wants us to take the habit of faithfulness in those daily things and turn it into opportunities to serve Him through those daily tasks! There is nothing mundane about being of service to Him! I have no way of knowing how my obedience is going to pan out this week or in years to come. All I know is that God has instructed me to perform simply, daily, mundane tasks to honor Him. He's going to take care of the rest!