Visions of Sugarplums... er... other stuff rather...

Today I had a "stop dead in my tracks" moment. But not really. Only in my mind. But it was rather cool, nonetheless.

At MOPS today, our speaker was talking about being a mom and finding peace in the midst of chaos. She asked us to pinpoint certain times of the day when chaos seems to take over in our homes. Times like the hour right before dinner, just before bedtime, trying to get out the door, etc. At the end of her talk we revisited one of these times that rings true in our lives.

Back up just a couple hours before she spoke...

With the freshly fallen snow, comes the early morning phone call for Jeremiah... "Hey Jeremiah, we're going to plow [at work] so come on in when you can." And my wonderful husband who is always home to help me in the morning scoots out the door earlier than normal. It's all good, I don't really mind it, except that I'm a planner and when things like this get thrown at me and I have to shift gears quickly, it's tough. I can do it, sure. I'm good at pulling up the bootstraps, but my head swirls and it does a number on my psyche. Especially when I have to get up, shower, get myself ready, make a hashbrown casserole for MOPS, nurse a baby, pump off the rest, get breakfast for the others, make sure clothes are on, diaper is changed, bladders are empty, hands are washed, teeth are brushed, hair is combed, winter gear is on, car seats are buckled, oven is off, dog is in kennel, and we're out the door by 8:40- whew!

It was all going fairly smoothly and I'm remaining calm despite the lack of any urgency by Jonah and Aphia, who don't seem to care if we get to MOPS today or sometime in late July. But then it happens, the straw... and I'm the camel. The Leapster, left out, on the floor for anyone to step on! Oh Sweet Jesus! (Sense the sarcasm as I kindly mock MYSELF) "Jonah, how many times have I told you not to leave this laying out? If you don't take care of your things, you are going to get consequences! I'm going to take it away AGAIN if you don't take better care of your Leapster!" The ever sensitive child replies, literally, in his sweet way, "Ok Mom, I'm sorry. I'll try to remember that next time." I breathe. I apologize for yelling at him and we hug. And out the door we go!

Fast forward now to our speaker asking us to revisit our moment(s) of chaos that haunt us, and that was the situation I envision. So then she says, "Now picture Jesus, there in the midst. (pause) What does that look like?" So I go on with my vision of my morning, only putting Jesus into the mix. I envisioned myself walking out of my bedroom, down the hall expecting to see him helping the kids put their jackets on, so we can head out the door. HALT! That is not what I saw AT ALL. My own vision stopped me dead in my tracks. Hold up! This was MY vision. Jesus was supposed to be putting my kids jackets on. WE HAD TO LEAVE THE HOUSE IN 3.7 SECONDS! What I saw, was Jesus, sitting on my living room floor, with Jonah and Aphia next to him, playing. PLAYING! Did he not know it was a MOPS DAY!?!?! But like I said, the vision brought me to an abrupt stop. And so stop I did. I took Isaish with me and we joined them. We sat on the floor and forgot about MOPS. This was Jesus and he had joined us for the morning, and this was where we were going to be. Little bit of an eye opener for this "Martha" who needs to be more "Mary."

Today I will...
-not say "Just a second" when my kids ask something of me
-give them my all when they need me
-be present with Jeremiah at the end of his day
-put off today, what can be done tomorrow
-sit at Jesus feet and enjoy his company

What will you do today?