Sometimes when I consider all of the things that Howard and I have to keep afloat I really don’t know how we do it. And yet we do. The children are fed, bathed, made to do chores, made to do homework, played with, read to, and generally taken care of. Schlock gets scripted, read, drawn, colored, and uploaded. Novell gets it’s share of work and frequently hauls Howard away on trips. The dishes get done, laundry gets washed, folded, put away, floors get swept, carpets get vacuumed, spills get cleaned. All of this on a near daily basis. The conclusion I’ve come to is that the only way the important stuff gets done is by faith.
I don’t talk much about my faith in this journal, but it is an integral part of my daily life. People don’t talk much about air either, but it is always there. As a family we pray and read scriptures daily. We attend church each Sunday. We teach the children about tolerance and God at the same time. I don’t record most of this in my public journal in part because I don’t want to push my religion onto people and in part because it is personal and I don’t want to be arguing or discussing it all the time. I just know that for me faith makes the difference between surviving and thriving.
For the last couple of days I’ve been feeling opressed by all the things that need doing and by Howard’s upcoming travel. This morning after the school rush was over I looked around at the disaster of the house. I contemplated the long day ahead and the day after that and a long stretch of early mornings and frustrating evenings without breaks. All of this weighed on me to the point where I wanted to crawl into bed, pull the covers over my head, and cry. Instead I went to my knees in prayer.
I believe in personal revelation. I believe that God not only listens to prayers, but answers them. I believe that God can give us the strength to carry burdens we could not carry on our own. It happened to me today. I got up from that prayer and went to work. For the first time in weeks (months?) the adjective “clean” can accurately be applied to my kitchen. More importantly I feel optimistic and hopeful rather than oppressed.
Now I just need a nap and the world will be an altogether wonderful place.
I’ve found that when I get to a breaking point (usually because of similar situations) I end up finding something to calm me down. Maybe it’s calling someone, writing in my lj, working on the computer, etc. Anything that can distract my mind long enough for me to think things through, formulate a plan, and cope with the current issues.
And no coffee at these times. Being strung out on coffee makes it worse. But warm baths/showers are good. Dim the lights, light some candles that I enjoy, and play some of my favorite music at a very low volume. Then I can curl up on the couch, get comfy, and contemplate life. That also helps. It’s almost like meditation…but not quite.
And there’s always room for prayer. It helps to know that someone is listening.
*smiles wryly* I’m just in an odd mood…you can ignore me now.
Faith is relying on the promise that things will get better. (One could wish that meant things would get better while living.)
That’s a very nice way of putting it.
Faith seems to be getting people through what they can’t hack on their own. Since life throws those situations to us from time to time, I see that as a good thing.
Another good thing is being able to have friends of different faiths.
Another good thing is being able to have friends of different faiths.
They’re all one faith. Only the beliefs differ. 🙂
Thank you.