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Minus Four on a Sunday Morning

It has been some weeks since I have been able to go to church...travel and hospital and illness detain. Today was no exception. Home with Faith and Charlie. They turned the doll house upside down and got to work arranging a cozy place for their little family. I plowed through the piles in the living room and bedrooms; made beds and washed dishes. Lit some candles to chase away the gloom and sat down with Isaiah. Quiet.

A little while later Faith and Charlie joined me in front of the fireplace under a big blanket for their Bible time. Noah and the flood and a year and ten days in the ark with all those animals. I imagined the mess and the closeness. Bible time over, we picked up some stories and set about missing the rest of us and listening for car sounds.

Two more stories and the car crunched gravel in the driveway. Books and blanket went flying. "They're home! They're home!"

Kids and Papa and groceries tumbled into the house. Bibles scattered over clean countertops. Shoes piled near the shoe shelf. Door opened and slammed shut. Noisy. Kids mixed in among the grocery bags and stayed to visit.

Our house is rambling but mostly we live in one room. A puzzle sprawled across the coffee table. Toys piled behind the stained sofas. Books. Everywhere, books. Sometimes I shut my eyes against how lived in our living space is but Stuart loves it. "It just shows how much we like to be together."

He's right. My favorite housekeeping verse is Proverbs 14: 4 Without oxen a stable stays clean but you need a strong ox for a large harvest. We are raising a harvest! These books, Bibles, coats, games and shoes, all necessary tools. It's not a mess I want to wish away. Choose quiet over noise? Peace over chaos? I like an upside down house. Which is why this morning when I read to two, I was listening for four more.


Photobucket

Nerf Darts on Modern Art

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Comments

Xandra@Heart-of-Service said…
Wise words for moms and dads all over the world. The mess, the chaos, the noise...all beautiful reminders.

Xandra
January 25, 2009 at 9:05 PM
You Can Call Me Jane said…
Kate,

What a good reminder of what all this mess means- being together. Thank you.
January 25, 2009 at 9:09 PM
Anonymous said…
I love this. I agree. I love peace and quiet but I soon wish for all the wonderful chaos that is my family. All of them. It feels strange to have just one or two at a time. I was thinking of your previous post too. How thankful I am to not be the only one tripping over children through the parking lot. It is so much easier to do those little chores without children along but who really needs just an "easy" life. I want a full life!
January 26, 2009 at 9:05 AM
tammi said…
I need to remind myself of this so often. This is so badly how I want to think, but so often don't. Especially when surveying the chaos.

Love the modern artwork and darts!!
January 26, 2009 at 9:51 AM
Heather C said…
I've never read that verse before... I love it! Yes, lived in is definitely much better than polished and posh. Just further evidence of the love and warmth found within those halls.
January 27, 2009 at 3:01 PM
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