It's All About Perspectives

I looked around the room.  All looked to be normal & in order.  It looked peaceful to me.  We were ready for Daddy to come home.  But, Daddy didn't feel see or feel peace at all when he came in.  He saw the box by the front door, the shoes scattered, the papers on the counter, the basket of clothes in the living room.  He saw everything that I didn't.  Admittedly, I am not detail oriented.  The kids & I are here all day, every day.  I have been praying for quite some time about how to make Daddy's homecoming more peaceful for him.  I was doing everything I knew to do.  We were both frustrated.  The power of prayer.  God reminded me of how detail oriented Daniel is.  He has walked into church & afterwards referred to the "lady wearing the fancy shoes".  Huh?  Who in the world are you talking about?  I just didn't see.  Every day, he was walking into our home, and seeing everything.  And becoming overwhelmed.  Kind of like a little boy who watches too much t.v.  He was overstimulated & agitated.  This little insight into how God made my husband has been life changing.  As the kids & I are cleaning up, preparing for Daddy, we remind one another to look on the floor.  What did we "just not see" the first time around?  A few extra minutes has made such a difference.  

I started praying about the small changes I could make in our entertainment area.  The t.v. looked like a shrine.  It was cluttered.  I hated it.  After some prayer,  a talk with D, we decided to move the t.v. cabinet (actually an old dining sideboard) into the kitchen and move an antique shelf that a friend gave us to the t.v. area.  What to put the dvd's in?  I searched online.  Nothing.  I went to Walmart.  Nothing.  I prayed.  I had several little baskets in our linen closet that worked perfectly for our movies.  The dishclothes that were in them were moved to the sideboard.  Perfect.  And free.  

This is just the beginning of our journey to declutter & simplify.  We have a big pile of stuff to be sold in a garage sale some time soon.  My sewing area is in need of major attention & our shelves down in the basement need to be cleaned off & taken down.  BUT, this is a journey & I am just super excited about the progress.  I am excited that I am able to serve my husband in this way, even though I never really saw the clutter.  It never really bothered me. But it's not about me or my preferences or feelings.  It's about God & His glory.  It's about obedience to God's Word.  He clearly states my calling here on this earth.

^{Titus 2: 4-5  4}That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

 ⁵To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. 

It turns laundry & organizing into a heavenly task with eternal value.

In His Grip,

Daniel & Laura