Do You Love Well

I scratched it out right there upon the slate - words to live by.  But somewhere between then and nightfall I had failed every word that was written.

When your wound a bit tight, have a mess of kids, and plenty of furry creatures...it can be a recipe for disaster even on a good day.

BUT...
When the toilet is clogged...again.
The coffee maker is broken.
She's crying over math lessons.
They're bickering over whose turn it is to sweep the floor.
Kai is screaming as he watches the dog eat his favorite car.
That sweet little bundle of ours is spewing from every open cavity.
Dishes and laundry are piled high.
Chickens have grazed the garden.
The dog's footprints dust the hardwoods...10 seconds after I've scrubbed them.

Oh, yeah, dinner.  Kinda forgot about that one - soup anyone?
By evening I'm spent.
Of course, this means nothing to the toddler who has a complete and utter meltdown as I'm trying to take off his clothes and put on his pajamas.  He wants his clothes.  He likes THOSE clothes!  Even though they're caked in dirt.  And bath time...they can go to bed dirty tonight.  Right?
 

These kinds of days are a bit overwhelming and I have to admit that being loving doesn't come easy.  In fact it won't come at all unless I purposely pursue love.  Many, many times I fail.  With one foot in front of the other...I try again...reminding myself that children are a gift not a distraction.  It's my job to show them how to love well.  So, while they eat soup I eat words off the slate and ask for patience, love, and help.

Many years ago I jotted this down.  I don't know who wrote it but I needed this reminder today.  Perhaps it will encourage you to press on through the mundane and crazy as well.

If I lie in a house of spotless beauty with everything in it's place, 

but have not love, 

I am a housekeeper - not a homemaker

If I have time for waxing, polishing and decorative achievements, 

but have not love, 

my children learn of cleanliness - not Godliness

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys

Love is present through trials

Love reprimands, reproves and is responsive

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, 

then stands aside

 to let the youth walk into adulthood

Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.

Now I glory in God's perfection in my child

As a mother there is much I must teach my child, 

but the greatest of all is love.

Until then...

Jessie