We Give Thanks for Muddy Floors
We spent a good chunk of our weekend doing one of my least favorite things…cleaning. It was a group effort with all hands on deck.
We weren’t tackling just the large-family home survival chores of emptying the dishwasher, picking up toys, sweeping floors, and wiping the bathrooms. We moved boxes of books, made sure ALL the clothes made it out of the laundry baskets into drawers, and vacuumed bedrooms. My husband replaced light fixtures.
We wanted everything ready for Thanksgiving week, from the play room for kids to our bedroom for coats. And it would’ve been a lot easier without children interrupting with runny noses or wanting snacks or getting tired on the job or needing any other kind of attention.
In fact, there would’ve been fewer clothes to put away and much fewer toys to step on without any children at all. Who knows? The house might’ve been clean already.
“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,” and where there are no children, it’s a lot easier for a home to stay clean (Proverbs 14:4). To find more me-time. To get away with a spouse. To go out with friends. To have extra money to spend.
But oxen are a good thing. They work for the farmer and bring him wealth. The return they provide far surpasses the effort required to clean a messy stall.
Children are a gift from God, “the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3). Children themselves are the reward, not what they do or us. And friends with empty wombs and empty arms remind us that children are a gift and not a given.
We decided a long time ago that we’d rather have children than me-time or money. Because God has graciously blessed us with a family, we give thanks for…
We decided a long time ago that we’d rather have children than me-time or money. Because God has graciously blessed us with a family, we give thanks for…
Muddy floors and messy rooms in a lived-in house.
Each place setting and the person it represents.
Every grocery run that feeds our family.
An overflowing laundry pile with clothes to wear.
Stretched-out bedtime routines that equal extra cuddles.
Questions from curious children.
Interruptions that remind us what’s truly important.
Each place setting and the person it represents.
Every grocery run that feeds our family.
An overflowing laundry pile with clothes to wear.
Stretched-out bedtime routines that equal extra cuddles.
Questions from curious children.
Interruptions that remind us what’s truly important.
Happy Thanksgiving from Loving My Children!
Read more of Katie's words at Loving My Children on Facebook and at https://www.instagram.com/katietfaris. To learn more about her book, Loving My Children, click here. Email Katie at lovingmychildrenbook@gmail.com.
Read more of Katie's words at Loving My Children on Facebook and at https://www.instagram.com/katietfaris. To learn more about her book, Loving My Children, click here. Email Katie at lovingmychildrenbook@gmail.com.