The Weary Find Rest...

I've just spent the past hour journaling my recent activities over the last month. Gardening, laying brick, exercise, cleaning, cooking, dog training, etc. were all topics being covered in a very pessimistic way. After re-reading the work I realized I sounded like a giant whiny baby who had lost the joy of living. This is not so. I love waking up and going into Lillian's room and getting her 'I'm so happy to see you' smiles. I love feeling and seeing her new teeth break through and add dimensions of cute-ness to her smile that I couldn't have imagined. I love when she reaches for me and the giant crocodile tears subside. One of my favorite parts of the week is to plan menus for the month and then execute my shopping list in an efficient time frame and discovering I've spent under budget. I enjoy the wonderful feel of hard labor as I toil in the dirt digging and laying brick. While I don't enjoy shoveling top soil over the fence into the new garden space, I'm eager to work the new dirt and plant my raspberry bushes, eggplant, butternut squash and cantaloupe. I don't enjoy vacuuming almost daily to maintain a winning forum over the hair and dirt that three dogs, one husband, and my gardening shoes can track into the house, but I love taking care of my home. I have even learned to find enjoyment in the mounds of laundry that we over blessed Americans seem to create.

The truth is, my life is busy. I find much work to be done in my home, almost constant, and I am learning to find blessing in my work. But this is biblical, is it not? We are to learn to be busy at home. This means do the dishes, clean the clothes, bathe the baby, cook dinner, exercise myself and the dogs, etc. Yes, my life is busy. But even more than simply 'busy', my life is blessed with work, the ability to accomplish the tasks set before me, and enough joy to see me through the days when all I see is the work and none of the blessing.