I never imagined that when all my kids grew up and left home that I would still be so very busy!  Many of the things I am busy with are activities I “put on the back burner” until I could get to them. Scrap booking is something I enjoy, and now have time to do!  I get a lot more reading done, also!
Something I read years ago, while my kids were still young, continues to help me as I go about my day.  Do something each day that cannot be undone.  I read this in a Christian magazine, and I thought it was a quote from Elisabeth Elliot or Marjorie Saint, both missionary wives, but I have not been able to confirm that.  Anyway, whoever said it has certainly blessed me.  

Dishes will always have to be washed and put away, clothes will always need to be laundered, beds will have to be made.  These things are done and then “undone” a while later.  To sit with my children and read to them, or listen to them read to me is one activity that can never be undone.  Those treasured moments will be tucked away into long time memories.  A note of encouragement written to a friend, a shared cup of coffee and a listening ear to your husband, a phone call to check on a family member, a quiet time in God’s word….these are things that cannot be undone.

My house was never the cleanest on the block, but it was never the dirtiest, either.  But many times I chose to craft with the kids, take them to the park, watch them play in the sprinkler, tell them stories of my life, and it was okay if the floor was sticky for a couple more days.  David would often come home from work, and I would be apologetic that supper was not on the table and toys were everywhere.  He would say, “let me count the heads…yes, I count four kids and a mommy, and they survived the day without a hospital trip.  I think you have had a successful day!”

Maybe that was setting the bar a little low, but I appreciated his attitude! :).  Now that I am a grandmother, I still try to live by this “rule” of doing at least one thing each day that cannot be undone.  I think I will go and begin that project for my granddaughter who will be turning 4 in a few weeks!  Oops, that bathtub may not get scrubbed today, after all!  What will you choose to do today that cannot be “undone”?

 

Shirley McQueen lives in Mangham, Louisiana and is mother of 4 grown children and grandmother to six. This article was gleaned from her blog: Encouraging Motherhood.