ready for rest

It was one of those weeks. You know the kind that just tire you to the soul. Brett was gone for a week, so no big deal. The big girls and I planned to watch some Christmas movies in the evenings when the little ones went to sleep. We like to make the most of the unusual schedule. Christmas movies motivate the big girls help clean the kitchen, sweep the floor, and vacuum the living room carpet movie motivation. And they like to throw in some break and bake cookies and make an icy cup of Coke 0? Yes, please.

This week, however slowly unwound, starting Monday and ending Friday night…Tuesday started like any other Tuesday, except when I cranked the van to take EK to ballet and pick up Raegan down the road, the battery wouldn’t work. It had been having some problems the last few months, but that day was the day to kick the bucket, I suppose. Brett had shown me how to use the jumper box before he left, but I didn’t actually DO it, so I still didn’t have a clue how to use it. Tuesday was not the day I would have chosen to learn, but there we were. I face timed him, fortunately he answered, and EK held the phone so I could put the cables on the correct parts and try to crank it. Thankfully it worked after that.

Later that day, my Dad came by to check on the battery. He backed his car in the driveway, brushed some corrosion off the current battery, took it out, set it on the driveway to clean it off more, so I thought, but instead, took a brand new batter out of his trunk, and carried it over. He said he had just gotten the same one for my mom’s car, top of the line, so “it should work.” Praise the Lord! I was able to pick Raegan up and drop off Ella Kate. Whew.

The weather. Goodness, the temperature dropped and the snow came with force! Schools were out, ice covered the roads and everyone stayed inside! We still did schoolwork, knowing we could still play in the snow too, without getting behind. We drank a lot of hot chocolate! It is always a weird feeling with most of the world being closed or closing early. The world is quiet. I enjoy peaceful days, but I am also a people-y person, so I like to know people are around. We made lots of hot chocolate in these fun cups from Cups, a coffee shop near Mississippi College.

The weather relented a bit, but Thursday night it rained, then the temperature dropped again, so the roads were incredibly icy. We celebrated our 100th day of school that Friday and planned to go to lunch at Chick-fil-A. We considered it, but our driveway is a bit hilly, so we stayed warm inside instead.

I almost forgot to mention the dishwasher. It finally kicked the bucket, the top shelf fell off, so to try to keep it able to run overnight, I propped it up with a spatula. The wheels always fall off and shoot out across the kitchen floor, so I just thrown them back in. The top rack bar completely fell off, so I just tossed that in during the wash cycle too! We were just waiting for a repairman to fix it. It ran a few nights, and did not run some other nights. I taught the big girls how to hand wash dishes and boil bottles to sterilize them! Despite the inconvenience, we all remembered how thankful we are to have dishwashers!

The last day, I picked up groceries before lunch, sat down at the table, and realized there was no formula left for Izzy Grace (I had not fixed the last few bottles). I had no choice but to pick up right then and head to Wal-Mart. Needless to say, lunch was late, people were irritable, and it was super fun. Do you ever have days where you are almost afraid of the next moment, afraid of what might go wrong next? I was there.

In the afternoons, I read a preschool devotional to Deacon as he lays down to rest. We sit on the small loveseat in my room, close the curtains, and usually Bumble the cat, will come sit with him on the blanket as we read. That day, I was super tired of inclement weather, wondering if stores would be open, staying inside, and being the only adult at home. I read his devotion to him, and, of course, God spoke to me too. The verse was Matthew 11:28 which tells us to rest!

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

He knows we need rest to recover from the stuff in this world, to refresh our bodies, and to rely on Him. We cannot do it on our own and we desperately need Jesus for every breath. Maybe it’s not a broken dishwasher, inclement weather, or a lonely week. Whatever it is, Jesus knows and He wants to let you rest in Him.

One of my favorite parts of the day is between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. when Izzy Grace goes to sleep. We have had family prayer time, and people are brushing teeth and settling down. We have a rocker in the room she shares with Raegan and Linley, so we sit in it by the window and rock away the troubles of the day. During Christmas time, the Christmas tree was beside us, so we rocked to Christmas lullabies by the dim light of the Christmas tree. When she goes to sleep, she often fights it, and throws her head back, then will relax again. She will keep throwing her head back and arching her back, while I whisper to her, and hold her tightly, until she finally lets go, and rests completely.

I believe we (I) do that with God. We fight and reach and strive, when really we could find peace if we would simply rest in Him. We can do what we can do and leave the rest up to His power and wisdom. Let’s truly rest in our heavenly Father Who loves us so much He gave His life for our sin. He is THE Source of peace.

Love,

Charis

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