Deep Thoughts
Being the very intelligent, perceptive person that I am, I have been pondering some hard to answer questions this weekend.
The first one is one that almost all parents have wondered at one point or another. Why do children fight naps and bedtimes while most grown-ups would give a limb to be able to take a nap and go to bed early every night? As I stood at the kitchen sink cleaning up after yet another meal today and that pregnancy mid-afternoon tiredness hit me, I could barely stand the sound of Luke's loud protests from his bed. I considered making him the offer of swapping places...I'll take a horrible nap while you play in these fun bubbles and wash the dishes. But, after further consideration, I didn't like the thought of half-dirty or broken dishes everywhere and a kid covered in soap from head to toe. Woulda been nice, though.
So, I've also been wondering this: It seems like there are more stores now than ever before. You have department stores, specialty clothing shops, bed and bath stores, Walmart and Target, sporting goods stores, maternity stores...you get the idea. So, why is it that when I finally decide I need something so desperately that I'm willing to take Luke shopping, I can NEVER find what I need? Cute boy Easter clothes? Nope. Maternity pants made for someone with no rear end? Nope. Brown boy sandals that don't make Jack look like he's ready for hiking or combat? Nope. I'm so not a shopper, and to take another non-shopper (that would be Luke) on a hopeless and fruitless mission is so frustrating. If it weren't for my mom going with me or her persistence in the hunt for the needed item, I'd give up and we'd all go naked, I suppose.
Here's one more. Who decided that we must all have nicely manicured lawns with no weeds? Who decided that people needed to spend their time and money achieving a plot of grass totally devoid of weeds, whose whole mission on earth is to grow in your yard and mess everything up? It seems like it was not that long ago that you just cut your grass and weeds (whichever decided to grow) every Saturday, maybe trimmed the bushes once a season, and that was it. Okay, I think that was before my lifetime, but I'm pretty sure that Trugreen did not exist to take all our money just to kill weeds back in the 1950's. We've created a society with so much pressure to accomplish meaningless tasks that we're all in debt and sleep-deprived. And I, being the perfectionist people-pleaser that I am, have a really hard time NOT getting stressed out at our weedy lawn and bare flower beds for fear of being labeled "those neighbors." I'm working on it. Having almost four kids helps. It's just not feasible to keep it up, but I truly wish no one had come up with the idea in the first place.
Really, just one more. How could God, holy and timeless, in need of nothing, decide to bless me so greatly? How could the King of kings decide to leave His throne and His glory and come live on this wretched earth and drink down the cup of God's deserved wrath for me? And, as if that wasn't enough, how could He then choose to bless me with a wonderful family, fabulous friends, access to His Word, health, food, shelter? And lastly, why, when I am blessed so beautifully with a home beyond this world, do I spend so much time chasing the things of this world? I am blessed, weeds, tiredness, droopy pants and all. And I am eternally thankful for a love greater than I can ever comprehend.
Take time this week to remember what this Holy Week really means and the beautiful gift that we've been given.
The first one is one that almost all parents have wondered at one point or another. Why do children fight naps and bedtimes while most grown-ups would give a limb to be able to take a nap and go to bed early every night? As I stood at the kitchen sink cleaning up after yet another meal today and that pregnancy mid-afternoon tiredness hit me, I could barely stand the sound of Luke's loud protests from his bed. I considered making him the offer of swapping places...I'll take a horrible nap while you play in these fun bubbles and wash the dishes. But, after further consideration, I didn't like the thought of half-dirty or broken dishes everywhere and a kid covered in soap from head to toe. Woulda been nice, though.
So, I've also been wondering this: It seems like there are more stores now than ever before. You have department stores, specialty clothing shops, bed and bath stores, Walmart and Target, sporting goods stores, maternity stores...you get the idea. So, why is it that when I finally decide I need something so desperately that I'm willing to take Luke shopping, I can NEVER find what I need? Cute boy Easter clothes? Nope. Maternity pants made for someone with no rear end? Nope. Brown boy sandals that don't make Jack look like he's ready for hiking or combat? Nope. I'm so not a shopper, and to take another non-shopper (that would be Luke) on a hopeless and fruitless mission is so frustrating. If it weren't for my mom going with me or her persistence in the hunt for the needed item, I'd give up and we'd all go naked, I suppose.
Here's one more. Who decided that we must all have nicely manicured lawns with no weeds? Who decided that people needed to spend their time and money achieving a plot of grass totally devoid of weeds, whose whole mission on earth is to grow in your yard and mess everything up? It seems like it was not that long ago that you just cut your grass and weeds (whichever decided to grow) every Saturday, maybe trimmed the bushes once a season, and that was it. Okay, I think that was before my lifetime, but I'm pretty sure that Trugreen did not exist to take all our money just to kill weeds back in the 1950's. We've created a society with so much pressure to accomplish meaningless tasks that we're all in debt and sleep-deprived. And I, being the perfectionist people-pleaser that I am, have a really hard time NOT getting stressed out at our weedy lawn and bare flower beds for fear of being labeled "those neighbors." I'm working on it. Having almost four kids helps. It's just not feasible to keep it up, but I truly wish no one had come up with the idea in the first place.
Really, just one more. How could God, holy and timeless, in need of nothing, decide to bless me so greatly? How could the King of kings decide to leave His throne and His glory and come live on this wretched earth and drink down the cup of God's deserved wrath for me? And, as if that wasn't enough, how could He then choose to bless me with a wonderful family, fabulous friends, access to His Word, health, food, shelter? And lastly, why, when I am blessed so beautifully with a home beyond this world, do I spend so much time chasing the things of this world? I am blessed, weeds, tiredness, droopy pants and all. And I am eternally thankful for a love greater than I can ever comprehend.
Take time this week to remember what this Holy Week really means and the beautiful gift that we've been given.
Great post! Thanks for the reminder about how blessed we really are.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post Amy. You are so right. We spend so much time on the pointless and so little time on The Point. I am going to link to you on my Friday Linky-Loos this Friday.
ReplyDeleteAnd girl, you are so right on the nap thing.
Amen and Amen!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wendy. If only I could live each day focused on the Right Thing!
ReplyDeleteI love the comment about the weeds/lawn! Of course my problem is that I end up killing any pretty plant anyway! And thanks for the reminder about how truly blessed we really are! I too often forget that!
ReplyDeleteJeanna