The week began with a text message from the ladies who clean my house:
“We are sick and we won’t be able to come this week. So sorry!”
I felt badly for them, but I also felt overwhelmed by this not-so-stellar news. So I prayed some really selfish prayers for them to be healed and show up as planned. I didn’t hear from them again.
Our schedule was already packed with things like homeschool, assembling bunk beds, football practice, helping friends with projects, counseling appointments, a campus bible study, piano practice, a prayer meeting, massive piles of laundry, my usual blogging, and preparing for a single’s event at the church this weekend.
In the midst of that I would need to clean the house before forty beautiful people walked thought the front door for community group.
I considered Bible stories like the parting of the Red Sea, water turned to wine, and a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread feeding thousands. You know, all the “piece of cake” moments for God.
In light of the tough miracles God can do, cleaning three toilets and vacuuming up Lego pieces seemed totally doable.
I also thought about a chariot of fire swinging low to carry me home. Any manner of salvation from cleaning my own house at midnight would be fine with me.
On Thursday morning I tweeted my plan for the day:
@mrsburnttoast: 3 things I need today: Coffee. Eyeliner. A Can Do Attitude.
Then I looked around me, snapped a photo, and posted it on Instagram:
The world needed to know that we were not ready for community group.
A few hours later, after massive efforts in homeschooling and running around like a headless chicken picking up everything my kids set down, my house looked like this:
At that point I had three hours left to clean up and make a big pot of chicken chili.
I realized more eyeliner might be necessary.
On my way to the bathroom to reapply my eye makeup, I found all four of my children goofing off, and illegally eating cookies and drinking soda back in their bedrooms. I put those little stinkers to work.
I sent them to make all the beds. Contrary to what you may think, these beds are “made”:
So we had a twenty minute tutorial on how to make beds.
Then we attacked the house together. We got the chili going in the kitchen, did the dishes, mopped the floor, vacuumed, put all the stray junk away, fluffed pillows, swept floors, and Mr. Fantastic walked into a totally clean house.
Proof:
We were ready for an army of friends to come and mess it all up again. No chariot would be required to carry me anywhere.
That’s when happy faces came walking in, carrying cakes and drinks, chili and sides. Laughter and the sounds of children playing filled the rooms.
There is no substitute for the joy of people in your home. Clean floors and perfectly fluffed pillows can’t compare to the happiness of opening your home and hearing the stories of all God is doing in the lives of people you love.
As I tucked exhausted children in their beds, Mr. Fantastic did the dishes, and a few people were still in the kitchen, laughing and talking. Later we stumbled to bed and slept deep and hard.
In seven days, we will do it all again. Because some miracles happen in the middle of messes, as hard work and diligence part the seas of our souls. We learn to love deeply, give generously, and laugh with joy.
That miracle is called God’s Kingdom. And it is totally worth the effort.
First of all…love your honesty and vulnerability!
And a few other thoughts:
–Love your house.
–Love that you have 40 people over every week, and wouldn't I love to be one of them!
–You may feel like many days you are in the trenches. Remember that you're not down there alone. The work that you're doing is so very crucial, because you're showing your kids, your neighbors, your friends (even those of us in TN) how you love your neighbor as yourself.
–I think you need to post your chili recipe.
have a great day Carrie!
Angela
Aw, thanks Angela! My chicken chili recipe is from Shauna Niequist's new book Bread and Wine. It was a HUGE hit and super easy!
Just brown a pound or a pound and a half of chicken breast (cubed) in a big ol pot. Add 32 oz of chicken broth, a jar of salsa, and four cans of white beans. Bring to a boil and simmer for a good bit. The longer the better!