Some days my husband would walk in the door and I knew He was walking into chaos. All of the cupboard doors would be hanging open, dishes still sat on the table from breakfast, cheerios lay on the floor, laundry piled in the laundry baskets (albeit, they were clean, just not folded!), I looked frazzled and he was frazzled!
This wasn’t what I wanted for him. I wanted him to come home feeling welcomed and at peace. I knew he had worked hard to provide for me, and I wanted him to look forward to being with me and not dread it. I was called to honor and respect my husband and I knew that when he walked into chaos, I was not doing that. But what to do?
Yes, we were busy (4 young children, work, activities etc.), but were the choices I was making adding to the chaos or was it really just this bad? Had I gotten caught up in time wasters like T.V., social media, excessive napping, or lengthy and useless talking on the phone? It was good for me to take inventory of my choices and then to make some changes.
I began to take notice of the time. If we had agreed that 6pm was going to be our dinner time then I needed to be preparing at 5p (or the night before with something in the crockpot). By getting up 15 minutes earlier, I would have 15 more minutes to clear the breakfast dishes, wipe the kitchen counters, and set the table for dinner so that when my husband walked in from work, it looked as if I had planned for dinner. I set the timer and at 4:30 every day, I engaged the children to prepare for dads’ arrival by cleaning up the house, washing up and combing their hair. I used this time to also share with them that we have to be ready for Jesus’ arrival and one of the ways we do that is to get ourselves ready by reading the bible and making choices that don’t separate us from God. I continued to make healthy choices that calmed the chaos and brought order into our home. There were days that I totally lost it, but I had learned what I needed to do to bring that balance back into our home, and I was able to regroup and get back on top.
I have always loved Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. The days that the world seems to be winning, I am reminded that by making the right choices (God pleasing choices), good things will happen and my marriage and family will find blessing in it. Keeping my eyes on Jesus, and living with the end in mind not the immediate.
Does your husband want to come home? Are you honoring him with balance in your home? Do you need to take inventory of your time choices? By asking God to show you how to bring order and balance into your home, He will. God loves a willing heart.
Be encouraged friend, together we are building kingdom kids and kingdom lives… one wise choice at a time.
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash