So last week the kids got an unexpected break from school. Four full days off. Yup, no fall break or special holiday here. I got sick. I'm not sure if I had the flu because I never took the test, but I'm pretty sure I had the flu I had a fever for three days and couldn't even get out of the bed for two straight days.
I have boys. I do not have any cutesy domesticated girls who can cook or take care of mom when mom goes down. Monday morning, I ran my six miles and just before starting school I started to feel yucky...by 2:30...forget it, homeschooling mama down. I crawled into the bed, and I didn't get up until the next evening sometime. And even that was a challenge.
Last week was interesting. My oldest is only nine. He stepped right up and made breakfast and lunch for his five and seven year old brothers. He tried to defuse any tense situations between them, and carried around the iPad so I could "text" him if I needed anything. He brought me ice packs, Gatorade and saltines. He even tried to help me out of bed a few times. I didn't eat for three days, not sure exactly what the kids ate...but the Halloween candy was in tact so they must have found real food.
So this morning, as rain continuously falls outside and it's dreary and pretty cold here in the south, we are about to start school. Yup. Every. Day. This. Week.
Just before school this morning I decided to have some 'me time.' So guess what I did? I brought the shop vac in from the garage and vacuumed the laundry room, behind the dryer and all the baseboards even the lint trap in the dryer.
Yeah, I'm 35. That may sound boring and 'over the hill' to some. But as I was vacuuming my heart was overwhelmed with gratitude. Really. I know it may sound a little silly. But what I began to think of, is here is this 35 year old woman, walking around in my body. My mind doesn't feel that old, and honestly my body doesn't either most of the time. But I'm a wife now, for the past eleven years. And a mom too, for the past nine years. Those titles may sound daunting to some, boring to others or exciting to a few. But the truth is, those titles define my life and were given to me by my Lord.
He chose me, not just to be His child and to serve Him, but He picked me out to be my husband's wife. The one who gets to grow old with him, embrace all his quirks and love him anyway. That's what I get to do. He picked me to be the mother to three boys. Three boys just barely four years apart. Three intelligent, energetic and challenging boys.
So even in the mundane and seemingly disgusting job of vacuuming the laundry room, I can be grateful for many things. The health and ability to vacuum, a house to vacuum, a vacuum that works, the ability to homeschool and teach our children how God is in all of life, the husband who supports me even in my craziest endeavors, the boys who although they boys they stepped up last week and did the best they could. The reflection of a 35 year old woman who enjoys vacuuming looking back at me because life is a gift from God.
We have so many, many things to be thankful for, we often overlook the smallest of details. Yet, I believe it is there in the smallest of things that we find the most profound provision of our Lord. He goes after the small, the mundane all the seemingly insignificant areas of our lives and fights for us. He fights for our hearts and lives to Honor Him. He doesn't give up, He doesn't let go. He relentlessly pursues us. Not because we deserve it or are worthy, but just because that is Who He Is.
I am amazed at our God how He fights for us. He wages war against the evil one on our behalf, in fact Christ lives to make intercession for us. Our Savior prays for us. Really? I mean here is our Lord seated in Heaven, and praying for us. For you. For me. We do not know what He prays, but we can be assured it is in line with God's will and it will honor God. We can trust the One who prays, that the prayers are for us.
So, this month has spurred a season of thanks, and my newsfeeds are overflowing with my sweet friends expressing their thankfulness. I am encouraged every time I log onto a social media site. All around me, I am reading the thankfulness of others. I think it is wonderful!!! Absolutely fantastic to testify to God about how thankful we are. I love it, but I also fervently believe that thankfulness is a characteristic of a believer, "in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Last week, I needed to ask God to draw the thankfulness out for the mundane. For sure, laying in bed day after day with no strength and three young kids, and my husband was so busy at work he couldn't take time off. It was just the kids and I. It's hard to be thankful during tougher times. But I've seen the Lord work in our lives, if we find one thing to be thankful for and express it, more thankfulness follows. Sometimes we just need to take that first step.
How about you? In this 'season of thanks' are you struggling in your heart to offer thanks for the seemingly mundane? For the little moments when the Lord powerfully speaks truth into your heart revealing what you need to thank Him for, even if you don't feel like it?
Are you leading your kids in a lifestyle of thankfulness? Are you showing them in God's word that we are to be thankful, it does honor God and we can be thankful no matter how small or insignificant?
Take that first step, thank God for something small. All the littles add up and that's what life is made of. Little details, one by one, filtered through the loving hands of the Almighty, fitted just for each one of us to bring Him glory.
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