My quiet time this morning hit home for me. Life is so full of things that need to be done. My to do list most days is impossibly long and I have to pick the most important things and let the others go because there are just not enough hours in the day.
Homeschooling for me is near the top- it has to be. Even if it means the book I want to read is sitting there staring at me, or the piles of laundry are becoming permanent fixtures around the house or the dirty floors and dishes and list of phone calls are in a no end in sight holding pattern. Some times I don’t give homeschooling the respect I should. When I worked full time I was not home as often as I am now. Granted we still go a lot and are lucky to get one day a week where we can stay home. But I can be hard on myself feeling I should have gotten more done since I was home most of the day. But homeschooling is my job and it takes up the major parts of each day. And that’s ok! We’ve fallen into a nice rhythm lately where the kids are becoming more helpful and we clean up as we go and all spend a little time in the morning and afternoon doing “chores” together. I also have a husband who despite long work hours comes home and jumps in to help with whatever is going on when he gets home.
This last year or two I’ve made effort to create “white space” on my calendar. I have found that those white spaces are some of our favorite times as a family. Space to be free, to rest, to create and explore. To play. To slow down and listen.
I’ve been reading “Pressing Pause” in the mornings and today’s was about loving our kids like God loves us.
While discipline and rules are needed they change behaviors not the heart. We love because He first loved us. He pursued us with patient and unconditional love.
I pray that I can truly see my kids each day. To hear their hearts, listen to their fears and their dreams. God’s love motivates obedience to love Him back not with harsh discipline that breaks the Spirit.
Don’t get me wrong there are many occasions in the Bible when he shows his anger but that is in response to blatant disobedience and evil hearts. That is not how He loves.
And to me this speaks to how I parent but can also be applied to how we love anyone in our lives.
Quiet grace. Slow down and listen to those in your life.