Plans
I am planning our week of school right now. Sitting hunched over our messy desk in my cold office, pouring over books, copying and pasting scripture into Word documents, making spelling lists.
In the other room, my husband is coaching the kids (and himself) through our family chore list posted on our white board on the pantry door. At the same time he's fixing dinner. These things are not his forte, but he's graciously navigating through.
I can hear the frustration in his voice as he redirects Alec to tidy up his bedroom, and offers Ava a banana. Benji is sidetracked again and playing with toys that just got put away.
I struggle to listen to Jesus voice of direction over the noise of life happening in the rest of the house; the game on TV in the front room, Pandora on my computer, Ava's singing, dishes clanking in the kitchen.
I suddenly hear a tiny thought at the back of my mind. It's my Abba Father saying, "Stop! Encourage the others that I see them. I know the things they do, I value their time spent raising up the next generation. I will honor their choices, I will prosper their offspring..."
So I stop, tab over to Blogger, and write.
This is for all of you who are sitting, even now, planning for your children. Planning math lessons, planning college visits, planning field trips, planning play dates, planning book lists, sports, meals, character training, history studies...
You may feel like everything you do is minutia, unnoticed, pointless. At the end of the day you may feel like you did nothing because your house is a disaster and your children are filthy. You may hear a voice saying, "Don't bother reading that to them, they're not listening anyway".
I know I've felt all this and more.
I'm here to tell you that IT. DOES. MATTER. It all matters. Every little bit.
And, it's completely unimportant who sees you do it all, or what anyone thinks about how you are doing it. Jesus sees. He notices when you wipe tears or bandage another skinned knee. He notices when you chose to discipline instead of take the easy way out and ignore. He rejoices when you read His word with them. He sees you when you are weary and your shoulders sag. He delights in you because you are His, not because you are working harder.
And, it's completely unimportant who sees you do it all, or what anyone thinks about how you are doing it. Jesus sees. He notices when you wipe tears or bandage another skinned knee. He notices when you chose to discipline instead of take the easy way out and ignore. He rejoices when you read His word with them. He sees you when you are weary and your shoulders sag. He delights in you because you are His, not because you are working harder.
That is enough for me. I don't have to be enough for my family or for my children because He is. He's already made plans. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)
As you sit making plans for your children, know that the Lord has plans for you.
He sees you and He loves you and he rejoices over you!
