Thought for the Week

  May 3, 2025

It was a chaotic, Friday afternoon and I was trying desperately to clean the house.  At the time, all three of my kids were under the age of four, so my house was decorated in early childhood décor much of time.  I started with the kids’ bedrooms and worked my way through the house.  When I got to the family room, I had the kids help by picking up toys and carrying their things to their bedrooms.  By the time the family room was done, the kids’ bedrooms were in disarray.  

I had the kids help me put their toys away, again, and we ate supper.  I opted for paper plates so cleanup was simplified.  Then I began the bath brigade.  For each child, I filled the tub part way with water, added bath toys and a child, washed hair and a child, dried off a child, dressed a child in jammies while the water drained, and then repeated the process. After the third round, I cleaned the tub. Then I went to check on the children who were supposed to be playing in the family room.

Apparently, they never made it to the family room. Instead, I found all three of them sitting on the kitchen floor.  They had found Crayola markers and had happily drawn designs all over their nice clean bodies.  As I came into the kitchen my oldest pushed the ice cube dispenser on the refrigerator and several ice cubes landed on the floor.  “Watch!” my kids exclaimed at delight. Then they each took an ice cube and rubbed it on their marker designs showing me how beautiful it was when all the colors mixed in the melted water.  Sure enough, there were small puddles of colored water all over my once cleaned children and my previously mopped kitchen floor.

It is times like this when one has the choice to laugh or cry.  I chose to laugh. Then I dried everyone off and cleaned up the marker-colored water.  

Like the Bible story, I think I felt a lot like Martha that day, trying to get everything ready for Sabbath. But like Mary, my kids were enjoying each moment. 

When life is chaotic, I am reminded of Psalm 46:10 which reads. 

       “Cease striving and know that I am God.” LSB                                                     “Our God says, “Calm down, and learn that I am God!” CEV
              “Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God.” GW                     “Be still, and know that I am God!” NLT

In the chaos of life, don’t forget to pause to enjoy the moment and discover the calm that comes from trusting God.

--Tracy Weakly