The Waves

We spent a lot of time in the water this past week.  All the kids loved it.  

One thing in particular stuck with me.  Eli spent an entire day at the beach bent on building a castle/fort right where the waves were crashing.  He enlisted my aid because it was a losing proposition.  With constant and unending efforts, we built a big sand wall that the waves could not quite erase, protecting about three feet of beach from the water's encroachment.  

I thought of a lot of parallels while we spent those hours protecting that little spot of beach.  I thought about the world around us, as heartless and unrelenting as the tide.  I thought of how we must be ever vigilant, of how we must work together as a family to keep our little spot safe. 

We enjoyed our vacation thoroughly.  Then we came home.  Whitney immediately went to work, and has been working all day (13 hours) every day since our return.  He is SO hard working and SO helpful and when he's been home, he has taken out garbage and unpacked and helped with everything.  He just hasn't been home much.  

Since our return, I have bathed the dog three times. (Combination of mud outside, upset tummy from being boarded and ducks outside upsetting her.)  I have changed the fish's water twice (because little sister keeps trying to "feed" him.  I have done load after load of laundry.  I have put clothes away. I have edited photos and cleaned and unpacked and ironed and made food, and cleaned up remnants of food.  

Today, after surviving three hours of church, two hours of which were spent watching toddlers, I came home and wanted, more than anything, to just collapse.  But Whit's working, so I had to get the kids changed, and fed, and the baby put down for a nap.  Once that was all done, I thought, "Oh good.  Now I can collapse."  

Only, I looked around and the house I had spent so much time cleaning was a total mess!! Tessa had gotten macaroni and cheese everywhere.  The morning pajamas were strewn all over the downstairs from the harried 'getting ready for church' drill, and dishes had piled up from both breakfast and lunch.  There was pink milk spilled on a new pillow, shoes everywhere, and the coats were taking over.  The dog had also gotten all muddy and pooh covered again and needed another bath.  The kids had let her in three times, and I had put her out three times, fussing at them repeatedly to leave her outside until I could clean her.  

I felt like crying.  I had just started to clean things up when the kids came in with a dozen requests.  

That's when it hit me.  Sometimes we DO need to build up that castle over and over to protect our small spot of sand.  

But sometimes, what we are doing is futile and pointless.  Sometimes our Heavenly Father is looking down on us fondly and saying, "Oh my darling Bridget, you don't need that castle.  That wall is unnecessary.  Stop worrying about something the waves will wash away in moments and spend your time on something that will last, on something eternal.  Walk away from your foolish efforts and pay attention to what matters."  

So I did.  My kitchen, family room, and laundry room may be a mess, but my kids know I love them.  

We never want to let Satan encroach on our piece of sand, but sometimes we are wasting our time. Step back a bit, and look at your life from the perspective of eternity.  Does what you're worried about really matter?  Are you protecting your beach from evil or are you just stressing out over a pile of sand the waves will wash away the second you leave?  

I am going to try extra hard this week to recognize when to redouble my efforts and when to walk away.  I think the Spirit will really help me sort those things out.  I know He will help you, too, if you ask for that help.