Just Obey

Lately I have been struggling to keep my home as clean and organized as I'd like it to be.  I have some great excuses in that I no longer have a housekeeper and I'm 9 months pregnant with my 6th child.  But I could tell that there was something more going on.  My homeschooling has never been more organized, praise the Lord!  So why was I having such a hard time with the house?

The Lord gave me an insight the other morning.  I have taught my children what I have learned about obedience from wonderful Christian teachers -- that it means to obey all the way, right away, with the right attitude.  I know that God has asked me to be a keeper at home, but night after night I was not obeying all the way, right away, or with the right attitude.  Instead, I was doing as little housekeeping as I could get away with each evening.  I was tired and pregnant, so why should I do more than the minimum?  I was definitely not obeying right away.  Instead, I was slipping back into my old procrastinating ways.  "I'll do that tomorrow," I thought.  Well, tomorrow always has enough trouble of its own, so I would either NOT get the work done or I would be stressed and crabby trying to get caught up.  Then there was my attitude.  "Why on earth should I have to do this work each evening?  I do everything for the family all day long.  I should be able to kick my feet up and enjoy some time for me!"  As I reflected on my attitude (which quite honestly had seemed legitimate to me until that point), I wondered how I would feel if my children responded this way when I asked them to do chores.  I certainly would not want to bless them for their lack of obedience!  I realized that God may have been withholding His blessings of a fully ordered home from me as I had been withholding my full obedience.

That very day I vowed to do what I knew the Lord wanted me to do to keep my home in order.  As I worked, I imagined what life had been like for my grandmother who fed a huge group of men who worked their farm for them.  She cooked and cleaned during the day and then baked in the early hours to have goods to sell at the local bakery.  I could not imagine her whining that she had no time for herself.  I was determined to work as for the Lord.  I was amazed that once I chose to obey, I had more joy and my house seemed to be ordered and clean in no time at all.  In fact, I DID have time to enjoy chatting on the phone and scrapbooking because everything was done. 

Now when things aren't going my way, I will ask for forgiveness and just obey.