2014 is well underway and as usual, life continues to change and progress forward at a frightening speed.
The last three years we've spent doing paperwork, preparing, planning, thinking, traveling, and adding three new kiddos to our family. I am slowly exhaling, as this year there will be no new kiddos.
It's amazing what running frantically, living life so very close to the edge can do for a person. It's funny how that level of crazy, becomes normal. So we have found ourselves this year with a strange "un-normal" feeling. Now what?
We've spent a month this year, changing diapers, teaching our 6 year old daughter to move her tongue back and forth. We've made almost 30 dinners and 30 lunches and 30 breakfasts. I estimate that with three dogs and at least 6 bathroom breaks a day, and not all at the same time, we've taken our dogs out well over 300 times. Opening and closing the back door 300 times. We've put on boots and gloves and hats and coats over 300 times. I've told our cat- who hates being cooped up inside - to get off of our counters surely a million times these last 30 days. I've cut the food of six children into bit-size pieces- for three meals a day for the last 30 days. That is 540 plates of food cut into bite size pieces. We've drilled addition and subtraction flash cards over and over and over. We've sung the "New Testament Books of the Bible" song so many times the tune is probably permanently ingrained in my head. Played in the snow- which means boots, gloves, snow pants, coats, hats, and scarves times six. Helped brush the kiddos teeth. Every. Single. Day. Vacuumed up dog hair. Every. Single. Day. Therapy, and stretches, and more therapy and more stretches. Every. Single Day. Church on Sunday's, and usually dinner with family. Packing my hubby's lunch. Paying Bills. And then there is the "other stuff", like weekend trips, baby showers, birthday parties, and friends over for dinner. Stuff. Life. Every. Single. Day.
The best way to really describe our lives is utterly mundane. That really is the best description ever. I re-read the above paragraph. Nothing jumped out at me. Nothing screamed exciting. Nothing made me say "wow" or filled my mind with "ooh's and aah's."
So when sometime in the middle of January my dad sent me a text with a link to this article by Paul Tripp, all I could do was say Amen!
My life isn't going to end up in history books. The big important decisions in my life, well they are far and few between. I live in the little moments. Again, I re-read the paragraph a couple lines up. It's blatantly obvious. My life is made up of thousands and thousands of mundane, boring, little moments.
So now what? The question is "Does God rule my little moments?"
Did I joyfully make every meal for this family? Did I sing "The New Testament Books of the Bible" song with excitement each time? What about vacuuming up the dog hair? Getting ready for church on Sunday? What about letting the dogs out? Brushing my kids teeth? All the moments that have made up this last month?
Has God used me? Has he refined me? Has all the sin that gets trapped in the "normal" places, like an elephant in the room no one talks about, has that sin been exposed? Have I seen God's grace at work in my life? In my families life?
I can say that "yes" there have been a couple of moments I've smiled, I've laughed, I've made the "right" choice, I've marveled at God's awesome grace. But, the reality is, there have been many many more than just a couple moments in the last month. Reality- thousands upon thousands of moments. I need His grace for ALL of these little, mundane moments.
Transforming Grace.
We read about Emmanuel, God with us, each advent season. Do I realize that He has made me the place where He dwells? Do I realize that this means He is present and active in all these mundane little moments?
To quote from the article:
"By sovereign grace He places you in daily little moments that are designed to take you beyond your character, wisdom and grace so that you'll seek the help and hope that can only be found in him. In a lifelong process of change, He is undoing you and rebuilding you again- exactly what each one of us needs!"
May I continue to be open to the change that Jesus wants to take place in me, in all the little moments of my daily life.