Last week we had a little scare with the baby. It turned out to not be a very big deal, but my doctor still wanted me to "stay off my feet" through the rest of the weekend. Seeing as how it's not very often that I am ordered to lounge on the sofa for four days straight, I did my best to be obedient.
Have you ever heard the saying, "lazy breeds lazy"? The idea is that the more you sit around, the less energy you have, so the more you sit around and so begins a vicious cycle. Well, four days of Disney movie watching was enough to set that cycle into motion. By Monday I was antsy to get moving again, but utterly crashed by lunchtime. I spent the rest of the day either dozing on the sofa again, or watching Haley play throughout the house...from the sofa. By the time this morning came around, I wanted to do nothing but sit and stare into space. The mounting to do list was daunting...laundry, clean the overflowing kitchen, run errands, bathe the dog, and not to mention the seemingly endless items in preparation for Christmas. As is my bad habit, when I get overwhelmed by my to do list, I choose to do nothing. I often find a mind numbing movie and stare into space instead of making even a little progress on my chores. It's a terrible habit, but that's where I found myself this morning.
After allowing Haley to watch videos in our bed for nearly an hour while I snoozed in and out of consciousness, I decided it was time to start moving. I mindlessly prepared breakfast and told Jesus, "I'm going to need You to get me through this day...both Your strength and Your patience." Before I knew what had happened, breakfast was finished and I had cleaned the entire kitchen. I looked around, amazed at this feat and thought back to my prayer, just thirty minutes earlier...it was happening. I also got the grand idea (aka Jesus told me) to move my errands to after nap time instead of before so we wouldn't be so rushed..."brilliant", I thought. The morning continued and I did two loads of laundry and sorted through nearly a week's worth of mail. While Haley was napping I even stole away an hour with my Beloved and read the next few chapters of Judges. That was a great lifter of my soul. After nap time, Haley and I ran errands, including grocery shopping, prepared a healthy supper, bathed the toddler and had her in bed almost on time. Then I cleaned the kitchen (again), wrote the Christmas letter I've been postponing for weeks, and even have enough energy to write to you!
Wow! Today is the best I've felt in a week, and I know it's because Jesus poured His supernatural strength on my tired bones and allowed me the resolve and patience to chip away a few items on my ever growing to do list! Thank you Jesus for redeeming my day! For allowing me to be productive, to invest time in my daughter and to see Your handiwork...and for my day not to be stolen away by staring aimlessly into space, as was my desire when my eyes opened this morning. You are so good, and so concerned about my pitiful woes. It never ceases to amaze me.
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I know some of you are concerned about me "doing too much" as my pregnancy continues, but please trust that I know my own body. The fatigue that has come with this first trimester caught me offguard...I had forgotten the extent of it, but I do know when I need to sit and rest. Like I said, it's not very often in life that we have such a wonderful excuse to rest...I don't plan on wasting it! You should also know that Toby has been so wonderful over the last few weeks. He has been helpful around the house and with Haley, despite his mounting schoolwork. He even took Haley to Wal-Mart (with coupons in hand) one day last week so that I could rest and we would still have the necessary groceries to make it through the weekend. He makes me feel so special. Rest assured, as soon as my head hits the pillow tonight, I'll be out like a light! On that note...I'm pooped. Good night, all.
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