Perfect house + Small Children = Impractical Notion.

"Life is messy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Busy children trump an immaculate house any day of the week. Does it really matter that my carpet has a juice stain on it, or that my cupboard drawer no longer works because Graham thought it was a stepping stool? Things can be replaced, but nothing can replace the feeling of “home” that one gets when a house is bustling with children." -Darlene Schacht, The Good Wife's Guide

I couldn't have put it any better than Darlene did in the thought-provoking excerpt from her book shown above. After working the 8-5 routine for many years, moonlighting as a freelance writer, raising kids, and attempting to take care of the bazillion other things on my list, keeping the house in order fell through the cracks. As soon as I was settled in as a Stay-at-Home-Mom, I started noticing all of the improvements that could stand to be done in addition to the daily responsibilities I picked up. Walls needed to be painted, flooring needed to be replaced, drawers needed to be cleaned out, papers needed to be sorted, photos needed to be updated, rooms needed to be redecorated...the list goes on and on. We'd just been entirely too busy to notice and before I thought through it all, I had plans on redecorating the entire house.

I began doing these things and, soon enough, found myself fussing over the perfection of it all. Some rooms were coming out the way I envisioned and some were not. I've spent more hours than I'd like to admit scanning Pinterest for decorating ideas. I kept dreaming (here comes the vanity issue again) of perfectly decorated, spotless home that everyone would be comfortable in. You know what the trouble with that is? We're going to have four kids soon. Perfect house + small children = terribly impractical notion. Now, that doesn't mean that it's okay for our house to look like a dump. That's certainly not what God wants us to do with our things. It does mean that my priorities need to be different. I need to focus on glorifying God with the blessings before us and not fuss over some dream house that would do nothing but cause tension in our home.

Our girls' room isn't magazine perfect, but when I saw the older one reading her Bible to the younger one before bed, I knew it was perfect for them. They are comfortable there. They have their dolls, books, stuffed animals, their space and their favorite blankets. What more do they need? If I created some magazine masterpiece for them, they may not feel at home at all.

Our kitchen table is riddled with knicks and scratches and all sorts of other wounds from kids learning that utensils are for eating - not for carving or drumming. It's ok. We come together there as a family. We pray there. We learn there. We work on projects together there. It's not beautiful, it's not brand new, but it doesn't need to be. It has a purpose and it's purpose is fulfilled. 

My nightstand is piled high with books. They are books I use; books that give me inspiration for this blog; books that help me provide Godly counsel to the children; books that help me to know God more. There, in an imperfect unsteady pile, they will stay.

I love being at rest with this issue. I love knowing that we don't glorify God by creating all of these beautiful spaces, we really only make idols. We glorify Him by showing His beauty with the gifts He's given us. He provides all we need. He takes care of the details and we are to do our best with what we have while trusting Him. So, my toilets are clean, the dishes are done, the floors are swept, laundry is (mostly) put away, and the family is comfortable. We may may not have a model home, but it's our home. And, as Darlene said, "Things can be replaced, but nothing can replace the feeling of “home” that one gets when a house is bustling with children."


PS. Did you register to win Darlene's book yet? If not, hop on over to the giveaway page and do it now. It just takes a minute...promise!