May 8, 2010

• Someday I will read more C.S. Lewis and Philip Yancey. (Love those authors!)  Today I read Swiss Family Robinson to my children at bedtime.

   

  Someday I’ll sit serenely in church and take in all the good things I can.  Today I will work at teaching my baby to sit still and resort to pretzels and apple puffs when the going gets rough.  I will appreciate the quiet moments when my heart is turned to God and I’m touched by what is shared or a song we sing.

   

  Someday I’ll take hour-long walks along country roads and enjoy nature. Today I take a quick dash to the end of our long lane to get out of the house for a few minutes. 

   

  And maybe someday I’ll learn to read music better and play the piano.  Today I will sing with our little church family, listen to story tapes much more than good music, and in a good-Mom moment, teach my children the songs my own mom taught me.

   

  Someday I’ll search out cookbooks and find gourmet foods to take to fellowship meals at church.  Today I’ll make the three easiest things I can think of Tater Tot casserole (don’t even have to brown the hamburger), Caesar salad, and graham crumbs with instant pudding and Cool Whip. (And pray that there’s enough food left for supper on Monday evening.)

   

  Someday Dan & I will hold hands when we walk into the mall.  Today one of us will sit in the car while the other parent hurries in to get what we need. If we get brave, we will balance diaper bags, babies in carts, and babies that walk.

   

  Maybe someday I’ll hone my amateur writing skills by taking classes, hours of practice, joining writer’s groups, and careful revisions.  Today I’ll dash off a Face book Note or scrawl in my journal when the inspiration hits, while children play beside me and the house nearly tumbles down with even an hour of neglect.  And I’ll try to deal with the guilt over all the other things that I should be doing instead.  Or (more commonly) I’ll stay up way later than I should to read, think, or write in the quietness.

   

  Someday there won’t be pencils on the bathroom floor, shoes to trip over in the kitchen, and jackets that don’t get hung up without reminders.  Today there are.

   

  Someday the dandelions will be under control and the flowerbeds will be meticulously cared for.  Today I will be grateful if I get some color in my flowerbeds and find a few moments of peace to weed them.

   

  Someday I will spring clean my house in entirety.  Today I am grateful that I got the messiest cupboards, most of the windows, and under the appliances done this spring.

   

  Someday I’ll feel like my life is defined by more than just “Mom”.  Today I can’t see very far beyond that title.

   

  And Some Day *oh joy* I will sleep for 8 sweet hours with no interruptions.  Tonight my baby may cry and Miss 3 Year Old will likely wake up coughing.

   

  And I truly believe all of you who will tell me that someday I will miss it all.  I believe it. Because already I sometimes miss the 3 year old my 12 year old used to be.

   

  And because I know I’ll miss these days and that Someday will be here before I know it, there are Things that are important to me:

   

  I want my children to grow up in a home where hospitality is just a part of life.  Where spur of the moment as well as planned guests are the norm.  Where the widow and her Down’s Syndrome boy from church are regular and honored guests and we get excited about hosting the guys heading to Alaska who stop for the night.

   

  I want them to know that people like the lady at our door last week who was seriously drunk (sorry…can’t think of any other way to put it) and needed the bathroom needs a hug and a prayer, not condemnation and scorn.

   

   

  I want them to know that they are loved by God.  Sometimes my own concept of this is so muddied that I wonder how I can pass it on.  But there are times when I say the words to them that it takes faith to believe myself and then feel the truth of them in my own heart.

   

  I want them to see beyond a person’s outward idiosyncrasies to the heart of that person. That the speaker who stumbles has good thoughts.  That the child who shows off really just needs some praise.   That God is the Judge and we are not.

   

  And that grudge? It’s just not worth holding on to.  I want them to know that peace with others is just about the best feeling there is.

   

  I really want them to know that that their parents love them.  And since love is spelled

  T-I-M-E I want to stop what I’m doing when someone needs a story or a cuddle.  I want to help my 10 year old daughter bake fancy cappuccino cookies that need to be dipped in chocolate rather than insisting that we do the same old regular recipe.  

   

  I want them to know that people always come before the décor or the clean house or the new clothes. 

   

  I want them to realize the truth that Things don’t bring happiness.

   

  Someday….my life might feel like it is my own again.  But until then, I’ve got a lot to keep me busy. 

   

  And I’m not sure how this verse applies to all of the above, but I love it. “I wait for the the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.”  Psalm 130:5

   

  • 11:52 am
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