Quiet time began around noon yesterday. Josephine was at Ms. Ginger's house and I had just gotten baby Roch down for a nap. I switched over laundry and started a new load before sitting down with a cup of coffee and my bible. (I feel like I've always got several things going on at once when I'm home...which is probably why "forgetting" about a load in the wash and having to rewash it once, or twice, over happens more than it should...).
Anyway-I was successful in my attempt that I had planned for Tuesday, to think of Jesus as if I had never met him before. And let me tell you, that is one interesting man.
I just read the first few chapters in Matthew. It starts off with describing this very impressive genealogy. It reminded me of us talking here in the South about who all is related to who. So his mother, Mary, comes from this long line of really important people when all of a sudden she's pregnant but not quite married. It's not an original thought by far to imagine the "scandal" this caused, but when I put it into context of the type of family that Mary came from, it put a different spin on the picture. Here is a really good girl, from a good family, in a pretty socially unacceptable situation. She was about to be divorced from her soon to be husband but an angel intervened to stop this from happening.
The next part is the best. He was born in a barn. Literally. So his poor mother has gone from pearls and heels to laboring beside a sheep. This, I imagine, is even more crunchy than home birth.
Then he gets visited by wise men and shepherds before his family escapes in the middle of the night to Egypt. When they finally do return to Israel, they have to live on the outskirts. And I thought our first couple weeks were busy with the new baby...
Meanwhile, he has this crazy relative (don't we all?) living in the desert eating bugs. (At least he was dipping them in honey?) And to bring the story full circle, the crazy relative starts yelling at the "respectable people" in town (the Pharisees and Sadducees) that they can't be saved just because ole' Abraham was their ancestor. So since Abraham was Jesus's ancestor too, this makes all of these people distant relatives and thus is a clear example of what can happen at family reunions if you're not careful.
So I was super caught up in this story when I read this part:
"A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." (Matthew 3:3)
My honest to goodness first thought was "Oh, I really need to get that cart off my front porch that is starting to pile up with stuff from my car that needs to be put away. That would make for a much straighter path inside."
This is what my mind really stopped and focused on for the rest of the day yesterday. I want there to be a straight path to my home. Although it's not necessarily a prerequisite for having company over or having quiet time, it's certainly easier for me to focus when I don't have physical items and a laundry list of mental tasks to "walk over" first.
So here is my "action plan" for the next few days so that I can "Prepare the way for the Lord" by making a straight path both physically and mentally.
1.) Keep a "path" cleared inside the main areas of our home. This is mainly just a matter of picking up the floor before going to bed-toys that Josephine has spread out and towels, shoes, etc. that we've thrown down. I'm not even going to shoot for the moon here and say that I'll also have everything vacuumed and scrubbed. Nope, just picked up and I'm not even going to worry right now about Josephine's room because I can shut that door!
2.) Write my to-do/want-to-do/really-need-to-do-but-don't-really-want-to-do/list down on paper the night before. Get it out of my mind and neatly put in a box on paper.
I'm hoping these two items will do way more good in being able to "have the Lord over more" than simply setting my alarm hours earlier than I would usually wake up and hoping for the best.
Here goes!
Love,
Kathryn
Thursday, October 3, 2013
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