As a little girl, I remember going outside with my baby doll and playing house. I looked so forward to the day that I would have a real house. I spent countless hours pretending to cook dinners made of mud and leaves and sprinkled with dog food. I had to add the dog food in order for my German Shepherd to want to eat it! I kept her food in my pocket and she followed me around the yard throughout all of my imagination wanderings. Looking back, it is funny to me to realize that my childhood backyard house never needed cleaning. It was a magical time where I could play the part without having to do the work.I have since grown up and had a house of my own for many years. Michael and I are now on our 22 year of marriage. I have to laugh at myself because some days I would rather be outside dreaming of something else than taking care of the house that I now have. I have grand visions of how clean and beautiful I will keep our house when all the renovations are completed. When I am honest with myself, I know that no matter how pretty the finished product is I will still have to wash the same yucky dishes and clean up the same muddy paw prints! I am challenging myself to be content with what I have at this moment even if it means my walls are undone and my floors are unfinished. Being thankful changes my outlook. If I am thankful for the food that we consumed, than the dirty dishes aren't such a problem. It would be heartbreaking if we had no food to put on those dishes. If I am thankful for the farm that we own, the dirt from the yard isn't such a big deal. It is all in the attitude. Today is one of those days that I would love to go outside and sit on the fence and dream about something else. I am old enough to know that it would be more productive to just finish the task at hand rather than let my thoughts carry me away to another project or place. My heart is full of thanksgiving for what the Lord has given me...the good, the bad, and the dirty. It is time to once again tackle those dirty dishes and piles of laundry with a grateful heart. Then maybe there will still be time to go outside and dream of dreams that have yet to come to past knowing full well that when I go back inside, my house will be clean!
grace and peace,
julie
6 comments:
What a lovely post, and I agree, it's ALL in how you look at things! I used to be the biggest pessimist, always looked at the cup as half empty, and alot of that stems from my childhood which wasn't the best. Now, I try to appreciate all I have and when time comes to clean or mop muddy floors, I am grateful that I have a home to clean, so many folks don't. I've been married for 22 yrs. too, and thankful for that as how many marriages these days last that long:) BTW..did you REALLY feed your shepherd mud pies???LOL!!!
haha, I had the same kind of "house" when I was a kid, only I used to make my dad eat my mud creations (he secretly dumped the food off the other side of the plate, lol) I'm too thrilled with the cleaning either, lol, that never was in my thoughts either, but boy is it ever there now...I sometimes get aggravated at how I can never keep the house clean and then I think, if I didn't have kids, a husband and a dog my house would be spotless...and lonely :) so I guess sometimes messy is not all bad, haha
This is a great post. We have to put all things in the right perspective. Thanks for sharing.
i love those "little girl houses". Yea, funny; my imaginary house did not need cleaning either.
excellent post! love the insight my friend.
try dreaming while you fold clothes - could make the task more fun (if that is possible) :)
Thanks for all your thoughts. Carmen, our shepherd did eat the mud pies but only if I sprinkled a generous portion of dog food in them! Ashley, I do let my mind wander when I am doing mundane tasks like folding clothes. I have also learned to pray for the person whose clothes I am folding at the moment. I think I got that idea from you in a long ago post! Today I turned up the worship music and sang my way through housework! Mrs. Trixie, the right perspective does a lot for our attitude that's for sure! Sharon, remember that when you are cleaning up those dirty paw prints from that giant puppy!!! Give him a big giant hug from East Tennessee!
grace and peace,
julie
HaHa, you can always count on a friend to throw in a little dose of reality, lol,haha
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