You're probably wondering about the title...my daughter Isabella loves to clean-she comes by it honestly. I am a shameless clean freak. One morning I was working away in the kitchen while she had the mop I'd left out overnight to dry. And I look over to check on her and my then-7-month-old son, and say the five words I never thought I'd say as a parent, "Isabella, don't mop your brother!" He didn't mind, and she just wanted to make sure he was sparkly. So welcome to my world!



Monday, December 19, 2011

Getting beat over the head

This is frequently how God teaches me things. Probably because I rarely get the lesson and even when I do, I need to be reminded of it. That said, here's my current beating: external vs. eternal. This is an age old choice that we've had to make, starting with Adam and Eve and running through pretty much every character in the Bible. At least I'm in good company.
I had already been struggling with this for a few months, as my small group girls can attest to. I am a task-oriented person and, although that has served me well in work, I can be so task-oriented that I forget the people around me. Sad, right? So my struggle has been balancing my insane desire for a clean house with spending the whole day with my kids. I know there's a balance, I just can't seem to find it. External (clean house) vs. eternal (souls/development of my children). It sounds like a no-brainer when put that way!
This week two people died: one was a man from our church and the other was Christopher Hitchens, a famous atheist. They both lived their lives following what they believed in . David, the man from church, spent his life pursuing the eternal, which was evidenced by the testimonies of those at his funeral-even from people he had never met face to face! Mr. Hitchens spent his life arguing against the very things he came to learn one moment after his death. His whole life was spent focusing on the external. Two lives affected by the difference in perspective. This was the sermon preached yesterday by our pastor. You can listen to it here-it was really good.
And I've been reading The Resolution for Women and wouldn't you just know today's section was about living out our heavenly calling. Priscilla Shirer, the author, gave the example of Moses. In Hebrews he's listed as being faithful, yet most of us would only see his balking and excuse-making and not consider him a "success." But despite the obstacles he faced-leading millions of people, the Red Sea, stuttering, fear, lack of water, lack of food, complaining-he was faithful to his calling. Every morning he woke up and thought, "I've got my calling. Time to get at it." He kept at it until God Himself stopped him. He chose the eternal (God's calling) vs. the external (all the obstacles). Good choice.
So there are three ways I've been struck by this same choice, the same one I have to make every day. The one that determines how I'll spend my time. The one that chooses my children over the million little things tugging at my brain. The one that I need to ask myself throughout the day. The one that ultimately will change my life and the lives of those around them. I'm normally indecisive, but this one has a clear winner.

P.S. I posted that at 8:20 this morning. Then I went to go write my new memory verses on my whiteboard. You know, the ones I picked at the beginning of the year. This week's verses? Galatians 6:7-8:
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Seems pretty clear to me!

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