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| Lydia's artwork |
Where she met a lady in the market who had 9 kids.
Andree asked her how she did it...
with all those kids.
Her comment was...
"I do the next right thing that needs to be done."
I've been in that "do the next right thing" phase for about 6 months now.
For most of my life, I've felt fairly on top of things.
I'm organized.
Hard working.
Persistent.
A "planner".
I usually think I can run through life on my own strength.
Which is not a good thing.
But lately...I've felt a bit behind.
Like I'm always running one step late.
Barely hoping that I've zipped up my zipper before heading out the door.
The outward signs:
#1) I wear the same exercise outfit for 3 days, hoping to decrease laundry, but I never make it to the point of actually working out.
#2) My "to file" pile overflows its bin and is taking over the floor space of our closet.
#3) My menu planning involves a couple of fast-food chains.
#4) I start washing all the colors together because it's too tedious to sort them into darks and whites.
#5) When I dust and use a spray cleaner, I'm looking at mud.
#6) I miss important emails that I want to respond to and find myself apologizing.
#7) Our van is full of half-empty Capri Sun packages.
#8) I'm a little thankful when our Home Bible Study (24-30 people each Wed. night) gets cancelled because it gives me a chance to catch my breath...
We've added a fourth child twice now.
We've been through the adoption process twice in the past 3 years.
We've added 5 kiddos in 8 years.
Really Lydia is our fifth child.
But with Selah we never were able to experience beyond 5 months.
And by God's grace, Selah was mellow and sweet and probably the easiest baby we've enjoyed so far.
He knew our time with her would be short...and gave us 5 months of pure joy.
Lydi on the other hand is full of LIFE. That kiddo keeps me on my toes.
She is exponentially fun...and exponentially naughty.
And she's fast.
Within seconds she can pull a chair and step stool over to the closet, stack them, and be into Laura's candy bin with half a Twix bar gone before I have even a hint of what's in the works.
She knows how to dial on the phone and has come close to calling 9-1-1.
She's a quick-draw with her siblings' markers and has definitely left her mark....
On many a wall, desk, chair, and bed spread.
A couple of days ago, she was playing sweetly in her room and then snuck past me as I was cleaning a bathroom, got into my makeup bag, decorated herself, the bathroom, the walls and the carpet.
While I was cleaning that up, she managed to find her brother's toothbrush, loaded it with toothpaste, "brushed" her own teeth, and then dropped clumps of toothpaste all over our other bathroom and down the hall. She definitely knows how to flush the toilet and we've lost several action figures to her expertise.
In the last 20 minutes I've spent writing this post, I've dealt with Lydi-out-of-bed-discipline-issues six times.
Lydia has been a bit like that her whole 20 months of life.
At 16 months she figured out how to climb out of her crib.
She did it 31 times that first day (our 7 year old kept tally marks).
She started trying to use the potty chair at 18 months and was set on emptying it herself (which was not a pretty thing...or helpful at all).
She's the first Chuppie who has ever said "Oh yeah baby" when I served Lucky Charms for breakfast.
She knows how to open the door to our garage and which correct button to push for our garage door opener.
Just a few days ago one of our sons said, "I know this is kinda mean, but I think Lydi is the smartest and cutest baby in the whole world".
The day before, he'd asked me, "Do you ever get bugged with Lydia?" (right after she destroyed his latest Lego creation).
This kiddo completely cracks us up...
But also keeps us hopping.
One of our other Chuppies was her mirror image, so I know this is a phase that we just have to work through.
But...all that to say...a 20 month old, combined with partial-homeschool, my husband working long hours, and several other responsibilities =
I'm tired.
I'm at the end of
Me.
And honestly...that's a good place to be.
I don't love it.
I liked it WAY better when I had enough time and energy and organization to feel
In control.
But--I know God has me here for a reason.
I need to learn to trust Him.
To ask Him...
To help me "do the next right thing."
I need Him to tell me what the next right thing is.
I really do think this "lagging" phase has been good for me.
I have more compassion for those who were overwhelmed by my list of
"1000 fun activities to do in a summer".
I am definitely more dependent on the Lord.
And I emphatically need help figuring out how to "do the next right thing".
Because there are about a bazillion good things that I could and should be doing.
This leads me to Joshua 9.
Our pastor teaches verse by verse, so we've been in Joshua for a while now.
But Joshua 9:14 really hit me.
Joshua made a huge mistake because he did not ask counsel from the Lord.
I've been thinking about that phrase: "did not ask counsel from the Lord" for a few weeks now.
And a couple of days ago it hit me.
The "next right thing" is not necessarily a matter of logic or of reason (though often it is)...
The next right thing is whatever God wants me to do next.
At times it will mean getting the laundry done.
Or cleaning out the school room.
Or vacuuming the entry.
Or filing the mail.
But--at other times--
His next right thing will be...
Reading with the kiddos.
Or calling a hurting friend.
Or singing "Jesus Loves Me" at a 1 year old's request.
Or listening to a long...long...(did I say it was LONG) story about Someone's day at school.
But whatever it is...
In this phase of life.
And really...
In any phase of life.
I want to ask His counsel.
And today I am thankful for the reminder.
The reminder that I cannot avoid because of this stage of life.
That my best choice is to ask Him.
And then do--
His next right thing.
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