Waste: Day 18

Today was a semi-productive day. I am in the “one week until school starts” mode where I don’t really want to do anything except hang out with my kids. Play games, build stuff, color, watch a movie on the couch, read books… all of these things take precedent to getting anything accomplished right now because I am about to loose our day time hours again. Some days are really long and hard with everyone at home, but I always miss them when they go back to school. The summers don’t seem long enough. :(

Things we did get accomplished:

1)    Clothes on the clothes line!!! This felt very Laura Ingles-ish for some reason. After I got them hung up I just stood back and looked like I had just painted a masterpiece or created something extravagant. 

It came with its own little humor too. Somehow in the load of towels there managed to be a running shirt, two socks, and Addi’s shorts. The girls were so excited to see the clothes on the clothes line until Addi saw her shorts. This instantly erupted in tears. She was crying uncontrollably because she thought this somehow meant that she could no longer have these shorts (probably a lasting side effect of getting rid of so much stuff during possessions month :)). We eventually took the shorts off the line and let her take them into the house, but had a long talk about how we don’t give them away or leave them there forever, it is just to dry instead of using the energy from the dryer. This resulted in ‘She doesn’t want any of her clothes out there… ever’. So we will see how this goes over the next couple of months.

2)   We made garbage disposal cleaners. This was a fun project for the kids (minus Brayden who was in the middle of some sort of Lego creation masterpiece that could not be disturbed). It was easy, affordable, and something we could all be involved in making.

3)   Entertainment was as local as you get: Front porch. The kids spent a lot of time outside today watching the construction crew re-pave our road. And when I say re-pave, I mean put down chip and seal a.k.a the devil of road surfaces. The conversations that occurred between the 4 children while watching them pave the road was very humorous. “There goes our road.”  “No more bike riding here anymore” “they are turning it into a Douglas Road. If you run on it, it will make you fall and have to get stiches” (They might be a tad traumatized from my stiches incident which involved chip and seal and running). None the less, it was entertainment for them to watch, and entertainment for me to listen. :)

 This has been a great month! There are some things I miss (long showers, the convenience of a dishwasher, not having to pack all my groceries in my purse and hands when I forget my re-usable bags to name a few), but all in all it has been an enjoyable month. I am learning to slow down and enjoy the people and moments that are here and now, and that has been an extreme blessing. It has been over emphasized to me this month that maybe I should stop searching for what it is that God wants me to do.  I started this fasting process in hopes that God would show me what I am supposed to be doing with my life. Where am I supposed to be serving? I have seen glimpses of it each month, but this month it has been made abundantly clear. I AM doing what I am supposed to be doing! I am just so busy looking for “what I am supposed to be doing with my life” that I am missing out on “what I am supposed to be doing with my life.” I have been searching for this marvelous, miraculous calling that God wants me to do (like starting a Women’s ministry, or raising funds for orphans, or crafting to raise money for some amazing cause in a third world country- all things I thought God might show me through these fasts), when it has been in front of me the whole time. I just spend so much time looking for something else that I am doing a cruddy job at what has been laid before me. 

I have four beautiful, healthy, marvelous children that God has entrusted to me for such a short time. I need to focus on being the best mom that I know how to be (and pray and seek wisdom to be better than what I know). It is my responsibility to teach these little people to love the Lord, know Him, have a relationship with Him, to be creative, be responsible, and respectful.  To treat others the way they would want to be treated, to go the extra mile, to do the right thing… even when know one is looking. I want to teach them to love people and look for the good in everyone, to try their hardest at everything they do. I want them to succeed, and I want them to be able to fail and still hold their head high. I want them to love themselves, forgive themselves, and give grace to themselves. I have so many hopes and dreams for my children… and sometimes I am so busy looking for “what I am supposed to do with my life” that I am missing out on the amazing opportunity that looks back at me all day every day. 

This forced slowing down and doing everything the “long” way or the “right” way has really impacted me this month. I am learning lessons that I didn’t know or expect I would learn. And though some things are hard to learn (like I have wasted so much time searching for something right in front of me), I am so thankful for this opportunity.

Thanks for joining me on the journey!