Treasures in Heaven

Working at home - being a homemaker - is so different from working at a desk job. When i worked at the courthouse, especially when i was in the District Clerk's office, it was very easy to know what needed to be done. It was all right there on your desk in your 4x6 cubicle, staring you in the face. And at the end of the day, you could point to a stack of files and say, "look at all these files i worked today." The judge's office wasn't as easy because the work didn't necessarily come to you. You had to go find it, but you could still point at the end of the day and say, "here is what i produced."

Homemaking is much different. There are lots of things that should be done that don't have to be done and that will never actually cause a catastrophe if you leave them alone. The boxes that need to be sorted through, the dusting the living room, the reorganizing the disastrously messy tupperware cabinet....that stuff. But if i don't make a list, i will likely get up in the morning, straiten up, cook lunch for the guys, serve lunch, and then when they're gone, possibly nothing. I'm horrible. Yesterday, i fell asleep at 1 - something in the afternoon and woke up at 3:45!

In addition to the recognition of my lack of motivation to do more than what has to be done, God has been talking to my heart about how i spend my time - it's been too much for me and not enough for my husband, whom i claim to be serving. So today i asked for God's help to do better, and then i did what i should absolutely always do; i started making lists.

So i used an index card and made a list at the top for the things i want to do today and a list at the bottom of the things i need to do "soon."

And i completed my today list and added to it and completed that, but i still miss a little bit being able to look at a stack of files and say, "there, i worked 95 files today, and now my desk is clean." Don't get me wrong; i certainly do not miss working for the county, but the organization and goal-setting was way easier. Of course i was in a 4 x 6 box! I think i will enjoy when we start harvesting vegetables being able to say, "look, i canned 40 quarts of green beans today," or something like that. That will be nice. Ok, i probably won't ever be able to can 40 quarts in one day; i think we would have to have a pretty giant garden to even produce 40 quarts of green beans....but you get what i'm saying.

In spite of the weird intangible sense of accomplishment, i do feel a lot better today. I'm very thankful. I feel like i'm honoring God with the work that i do get done; i know that He finds pleasure in humble service in honor to Him; and i know that He keeps a tally. Maybe today He can look on my spiritual storing up shelf and say, "look, Beth stored up 40 quarts of serving her husband today."

And that's the best accomplishment of all.