“Domestic Goddess” will never be my title.
Becoming Suzy Homemaker is a dream. (More often, my experience is a nightmare.)
Every time I cook, I pray that nobody dies from the food I’ve just prepared.
So a list of to-do’s (The List) that involves cleaning, shopping, and cooking snatches me away from my happy place. It’s a list of things I don’t consider fun.
Sometimes, I put pretty blue bullets next to each group of words on The List to make it a bit more energizing. (Yeah, like that really works.)
Sometimes, I scrawl The List on the back of a bank statement envelope (which just adds another whole layer of anxiety) with a broken pencil I find underneath the car seat, along with 13 pennies and two Hot Tamales candies.
Sometimes, I start The List with everything I did yesterday just so I have a few tasks to cross off. (Some call it cheating. I call it creative list building.)
The List draws every ounce of air out of my lungs. It has more suction than that vacuum cleaner that can lift a bowling ball off the floor.
Maybe your current List doesn’t involve toilets and dusting.
Maybe yours is a stack of medical appointments, an aging parent, a job search, financial stress, or simply finding enough energy to get through the day. (They’ve been on my List, too.)
During the last few weeks, The List has taken up too much space in my brain. In fact, some mornings I wake up already behind—and I haven’t even put my feet on the floor yet. You too?
Ignoring it provides temporary relief, but Hope is standing by the exit door with her purse on her shoulder and her car keys in hand.
Groceries to buy.
Floors to wash.
Bills to pay.
Appointments to schedule.
Decisions to make.
People to care for.
Laundry to move from the washer to the dryer before it gets moldy. Or moldier.
Ugh. Ooftah. Good grief. All the words.
Time to escort Hope away from the exit door and quietly confiscate her car keys.
I don’t need a pep talk, a rah-rah you’ve got this kind of reminder.
I need to remember that God meets me.
Right here and right now.
In The List.
Your list may focus on kids’ expectations and family obligations.
Or figuring out how to find another job. Or pay your bills.
Or finding the courage and strength to get out of bed.
Or how to just get your life back in order.
Please remember . . . God will meet you in your list.
So, let’s take just one minute, take a breath, and pray these words (plug in your own pressure-placed situations):
Lord, in all of this busy-ness, please show me …
How to live fully when life is reduced to The List.
And maybe most importantly …
Remind me that my worth isn’t measured by how much I crossed off today.
I put so much pressure on myself. Be. Do. Get It Done.
And these homemaking tasks don’t come eas for me.
Please help me find that place of domestic contentment where I’m refreshed and not ragged.
Focused and not frazzled.
Settled and not sinking.
Lord, I know you meet me right where I am.
So, today, I’ll meet You in The List.
One task. One phone call. One load of laundry. One prayer at a time.
Amen.
Blessings on your day, my friend. I am praying that you will KNOW God’s presence NOW in the middle of your stuff.
P.S. I’ve been having so much fun sharing short encouragement videos on YouTube. If you’ve watched one, thank you for spending a few minutes with me there. I posted a new one this morning! And if you’d like to know when a new video goes live, subscribe and click the little bell.
