Reflections on chaos...

...and how God reveals Himself through order when you least expect it!

There is a Psalm, I think it is 118 or around there.. that has been speaking to me today. "This is the day the Lord made, we rejoice and are glad in it."

OK.. I have heard that a thousand times. I think, in the Methodist church , we did that in a repeating way or something, like, probably every service. It is one of the few I actually have in my memory, and how shameful that it was in there and I never took notice of it before. God makes EVERY day, right? Ok, yeah, got it. Give thanks every day for the blessings God has given us. Got it.

Did I get it? Probably not really. Not until God showed me His own way.

Here is how God used that verse to put some order into my Monday...

Mondays at our home are "catch up" days with things like laundry, school work, tidying up and things like that. It has become for me what Saturdays used to be, before outreaches, and travel baseball. The weekends, for us, are more like workdays now. Monday was never my most favorite day anyway, because it used to mean "back to work/school/yuckky." I woke up this morning , however, feeling some pressure because it is nearing time for Watson to have his yearly homeschool evaluation. This time, every year, I feel internal pressure to round up everything we did and put it into some sort of binder or folder so that a "certified teacher" can look at it and tell me if my child has "learned anything" or not this year. ( You can probably tell that this is my least favorite part of homeschooling.)

Anyway... because the past year has been VERY chaotic between kid's things, family stuff, the church and ministry, I have NOT kept up with much paperwork. When you homeschool, this is a BAD IDEA. I already know that. I let it happen anyway.

God gave me an extra measure of energy this morning, however. I got four loads of laundry done.. helped Caden with reading , helped Savannah paint a VERY pretty picture for Daddy to take to work, and suffered through TWO hours of pre-algebra type fractions with Watson, not to mention brushing up on his latin, and his Bible work. ( In between this, taking care of juice needs, potty breaks, breakfast, snacks , cleaning duties , the phone, answering email.. and hugs when I can get them...) and, at some point... I tackled the dreaded "Portfolio". Watson already knows how this tends to make me sort of , well.. angry- every year.. and he quietly took both the younger kids outside. I had already had a couple of outbursts, and ended up assigning him two bookreports to be proofed, edited and turned in before next Friday. Not fair.. I know.

Anyway, I had been feeling frustrated because Watson struggles with school work. He actually doesn't much like it. Math.. we get done through blood, sweat and tears ( mine and his, sometimes Dad's too) - the other subjects, he tolerates. But that is as far as it goes. He CAN do it, but he doesn't ENJOY it much. As I was sighing, putting things together into his folder, I realized...

1) At this time last year he was barely multiplying, and did not understand long division at all. Now, he can add, subtract, divide or multiply fractions, he understands common denominators, he can find the lowest or highest CD, reduce fractions, and manipulate mixed numbers. He has made huge progress... and it is evident in the pile of math system sheets that I looked through today.

2) He is 2 weeks away from getting his certificate of completion in a co-op course in Latin and Roman History. He got a B-plus on the Roman History project he turned in. He had help with it, of course, but still.. he is passing the class and can get High School credit for his work for one year of Foreign Language. Huge , huge accomplishment for a person who is 3 weeks shy of his 13th birthday.

3) He has been studying the Life of Christ, and His 3 year ministry on earth. Watson can tell you exactly what has to happen for someone to be "born again", and he understands the difference between *saying* you are a Christian and *acting* like one. He understands it is a heart matter. He understands terms like sin, mercy, and compassion, and can explain them to you and tell you the things Christ did to model those for us. He understands why Christ came to earth , and why He died on the cross. He really GETS it. He knows what a servant heart is, and why God wants us to have that. He also has learned the differences between Creationism and Evolution theory, and shows Biblical understanding of why Christians believe in the Creation. He is getting pretty good at defending his stand, as well.

4) He is reading on a solid 7th grade reading level. Last year at this time, he was probably somewhere in the 5th grade as far as reading. His comprehension has improved, greatly, as have his writing skills.


So, in the midst of this hectic , chaotic, catching -up Monday, I am looking at his work for the year, and I remember that verse. God gave us this day , there is joy in it, and I am standing here in the kitchen, looking at it in Watson's homeschool portfolio. I am also acutely aware that none of that would have gotten done if not for God's grace in our lives.

So, after the past couple of weeks of trying to remind myself to praise God when things get hard , today I am filled with thanks and a joyful heart that my kids are healthy, their brains work well, our family lacks for nothing, there is love in our home , and God is in the driver's seat, gently restoring order when we humans try to pursue disorder.

He is good, all the time.

Cheryl