I have come to grips with a few things. In this season of my life I will never have a perfectly spic and span, white glove tested, perpetually company ready, "Martha" home; AND I'M OK WITH THAT. Raising 2, soon to be 3 under 3, is hard, time consuming, and very taxing.Praise God I can do all things through Christ, however in this season I can't expect to have a "Martha" home but I certainly don't want a "Mary" home either.
My goal is simply a "Marty" home; clean, company ready within 15-30 minutes (please call first), dishes done, diapers thrown away, toys managed. If you come over to my house, my windows will probably have streaks, but my floor will be vacuumed; my microwave may have spots on the inside, but my counters will be wiped; you might see a cob-web or two in the corner, but my kitchen and bathroom floors will be mopped and sanitary.
I can't realistically expect to have everything perfect in this season. I of course envision a time when my teenage children will joyfully clean next to me before watching any television or playing any video games. They will clean up after themselves and ask me if there is any other way that they can help with the house. (I think I hear some mother's of teenagers laughing somewhere right now)
Day dreams aside, God promises wisdom in anything, if we only ask him. This means housework too! I pray for wisdom every morning in my actions, how I clean, what I eat, how I clean and everything else in between. We can trust that God will help us know what housework to do when our time is running thin, he wants us to have a happy and peaceful home even more than we do.
Flowery words aside, when I don't feel like cleaning, these things keep me motivated:
A Clean House has less germs
A Clean Home is safer for a crawling baby and a too curious for her own good toddler
A Clean house can save money, because I don't have to replace things I already own.
A Clean home is more peaceful
A Clean home brings honor to God and my family
A Clean home allows me to relax.
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Great thoughts! I think it all comes down to priorities...children definitely come first so letting go of the idea of perfection is necessary, albeit sometimes hard to do. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat list of reasons to keep a clean home; thanks!
ReplyDeleteLove your reasons for a clean home!
ReplyDeleteHaha, Marty... love that! Great way to put it!
ReplyDeleteI figured the only way I'll ever have a "perfectly clean" home is if I were to clean 24 hours a day (or at least every waking moment). It's simply not realistic. Keep up on it regularly, yes, but I can't spend my life chasing after a perfectly clean home.
ReplyDeleteMy children need me more. :) Cleaning gets done, obviously, but it isn't perfect.
Love this post. Ditto on everything!
ReplyDelete