It is late, I agree. In fact, I should have been in bed already. Why am I not in bed? It is quiet. So quiet I can hear the baby sucking on his fingers two rooms away. That kind of quiet doesn't happen too much here anymore, not amidst the 6 children living life and loving each other and homeschooling together.
Sometimes when it gets this quiet I wonder if there is anything I could do to encourage everyone to be more quiet when they are all awake... but even as I write that I can see the faces of my closest friends twisting up in laughter, for I am the type of person that people who have not seen me in years will come out of nowhere to say, "I knew it was YOU, I heard you from across the STORE!"
As loud and boisterous as I am naturally, I actually do enjoy the quiet... sometimes, however during the craziness of the day, I will slip into coveting quiet, or calm or some combination of both. But that is when the red light starts flashing and alarms begin to go off (or at least I wish they would)... covet... Covet... COVET... Oh, that's a sin... ugh!
Of course, I try to rationalize it away... "But all these kids all day, its seriously loud, can't hear myself think, can't walk through the room without crushing something underfoot... who wouldn't want, desire, covet quiet and calm?!?!?!?" Even in the midst of chaos, God's Word stands as an admonishment to not sin (in this case coveting, and discontentment), and gives me encouragement.
Proverbs 14:4 (NASB) says "Where there are no oxen the manger in clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox." While the NIV says, "... from the strength of the ox comes an abundant harvest."
Ahhhhh... a sweet reminder... I wouldn't trade my little oxen for any measure of cleanliness, orderliness, QUIET. God has a perfect plan through all our everyday messes (of spilled milk and dropped plates) and stubbed toes (from toys left out) and scraped knees (by careless rushing) and noise (that come in so many forms... and volumes). The many oxen bring me many blessings, moment by moment, if I will only look for them...
Of course, I am still human, I am a Mommy who has been forced to watch Nemo a million and a half times... so I sometimes have moments like the Starfish whose name has escaped me... "Find a happy place... find a happy place... find a happy place..." The goal is that I would pursue to meditate on God's Word as my "happy place" more than anything else. Jesus calmed the storms for the disciples and I can trust Him to care for me.
And now... to sleep... to dream in silence... well, that is, until someone needs to go pee...
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