It’s time to pick up your toys!
A late afternoon ritual in our house when the kids were young.
I knew that tomorrow they would pull out every toy again, but it was good for my sanity to see a clean floor when I tucked them in at night.
If you haven’t done your chores today, come finish them.
Assigning the kids chores was a survival tool for me. Young hands helped conquer the daily mess made by all.
This weekend we’re cleaning out your closet and chest of drawers.
This always got the biggest moans from them because it meant trying things on.
Yet, there’s beauty to be seen in our messy.
The toys were all over the house and yard because the children were having FUN. Running in and out of the house, shifting from one toy to another, trying to keep up with their imaginations.
Chores were a consequence of ACTIVITY. Rooms had to be tidied and floors had to be swept, and the garbage or recycling had to be taken out multiple times a day because the children and their friends were busy, in the best of ways.
Cleaning out closets and drawers MARKED TIME for me. Outgrowing clothes and shoes plus changes in taste gave evidence they were growing – a reminder to pause and enjoy.
Messy can be meaning-FULL.
Now our children are grown. Living out on their own.
When they visit, our house gets messy and I LOVE IT.
We’re having FUN, being ACTIVE and MARKING TIME together.
Dear God,
Help us have Your view of the daily. Teach us Your way of order and help us recognize and embrace the meaning-full messy. Amen.
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