Chores

Selah Grace sweeping in the backyard

There's a number of pretty high profile verses in the Bible about working with a cheerful heart and not complaining so you can shine like the stars, etc. Although I know these and I know the premise is right, the secret truth is that I really don't like doing chores. I'd even go so far as to say that I despise chores for the time they steal from me. When I was little, I would spend hours cleaning and rearranging the furniture in my room...for fun. Now? The living room in a veritable minefield of board books and toys and having community group at our house means that you can count on the floor being mopped once a week, but no promises for more. When does this shift happen. Selah loves doing chores. She only need see a broom before she is pushing it down the hall "sweeping". She "folds" her cloth diapers and puts them away in bins. She eagerly rakes leaves and waters in the garden. She happily takes cloths and wipes them around the furniture and floors. Me? I don't share her enjoyment. Maybe I just feel overwhelmed by the constant need to do chores. There is always laundry and with a toddler whose new favorite activity is baptizing mom's makeup, shoes, toothbrush, comb, sippy cup, etc in the toilet, so many things scream to be sterilized. I'm kind of just waiting for hazmat to come rope off the kitchen area so I finally have an excuse to not cook and therefore eliminate the need to clean the kitchen. What I do know is this: I could clean our home many hours a day and if I'm not careful I will discover that I spent my life in one marathon cleaning fury. I'm okay with things being a little messy if it means I spent my day playing with my baby and remembering to enjoy this time I get to be home with her. I'm trying to get a better perspective about doing chores. I can say it to my head, but I'm working on it going to my heart.