signs of life in our home

I am so amazed at how spending time with Jesus totally transforms your perspective. I can remember last week a time when having to deal with all of this would have made me feel overwhelmed:

The paper snowflakes all over the living room...

the muffin crumbs everywhere...

random junk to put away {and more crumbs}...

laundry to do...

and the never empty sink of dishes...

Not so long ago, seeing those things would have forced me to take a deep breath and tackle them as soon as possible.

But this morning, they aren't my taskmasters. 

Instead, they are beautiful signs of life at my house.

Of tiny hands creating...

of mouths being fed...

of little bodies being clothed.

It's amazing how walking with Jesus takes the temporary and gives it an eternal perspective.

These precious lives have been entrusted to me. They are His, yet they are in my care.

Do I love them the way my Father loves me?

Oh, I want to so badly.

I love how my Father is so patient with me. How I make messes, and He takes care of them for me.

I stumble, and He picks me up. Yet He doesn't tell me how awful I was for falling. I sin, and He forgives and is still merciful to me.

He holds my hand through it all. And that's what I want to do for them too.

My Father is helping me focus on my little ones instead of the mess this week. And you know what? The mess doesn't matter at all anymore.

It's such an incredible mercy- only He could change this stubborn heart.

He's taking my eyes off the temporary and showing me what really matters.

They are His little ones too.

I praise you, Lord, for the precious signs of life in our home. Thank you for food, and dishes to eat it on; clothing, and a place to wash it; for the eight little busy hands and eight little growing feet you've given me to care for. Please help me to keep my eyes on what is important in this time I have with them. Help me to show them the way to you by displaying your love to them.