Monday, November 2, 2009

He met me

The other day I was feeling weary.

I was feeling overwhelmed.

Tired.

My usual mommy strength was gone.... as was my patience.

It wasn't one big thing, it was just all the little things piled on top of each other.

I put the girls down for their naps, turned on the worship music as loud as I could without waking them and set to work cleaning the dirty dishes.

Ugh.
I had more than a sink full.

Dishes from the night before (that I was too lazy to clean). Breakfast dishes (that by this time had cereal cemented to the sides of them). And a ton of dishes from the baking I had done with the girls that morning (love to bake- hate to clean up afterwards).

Unfortunately these dishes were not going to clean themselves.

So, I filled up the sink with hot soapy water and slowly got to work.
And as I washed those dirty dishes clean... He met me.

He met me where a weary mommy of three little ones needed to meet her God.

See, I didn't intentionally set apart some time to meet with Him, but He knew...
He knew that I needed Him. Even when I didn't even fully know.

And it was good to meet with Him while I did the dishes. He spoke to my heart. He poured new mercies over me. He wrapped me up in His arms and reassured my worried heart.

All the while I cleaned those dishes He cleaned my heart.

Does that throw you off a bit?
That God would be able to minister like that while I was "distracted" by that mountain of dishes?

I was surprised at first too.
But looking back I can see that while my hands were busy....my spirit was still.
I was soaking Him in.

See, I'm learning that this season of raising little ones leaves me feeling more than a little spent by the end of the day. It is often hard to set aside a specific time to quiet my little world. I don't have the same quiet time with God that I once had before little ones ran around me with sticky fingers and toys cluttered every corner.

But He's teaching me that He will meet me where I need Him to. In front of a sink full of dishes. In the laundry room. In the car as I wait for my son to get out of school. Even as my hands are busy doing something else.... if my spirit is still He will speak to me.

Yes, I still need to make spending time with Him a priority. Yes, I need those times of quiet where I'm doing nothing but spending it with Him.

But I am also discovering that He wants to speak to me even in the midst of my chaos. In the middle of the day. When I am weary. When I am under a pile of dirty dishes. He will wash me clean of my worries. He'll leave me refreshed, with a new found strength to face the rest of my day.

Why?

Because He loves me.
And because He loves to wash the dishes with me.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
Psalm 139: 7


8 comments:

  1. beautiful, my friend. once again, your words touch and challenge me.

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  2. I can so relate to these moments. It often seems to me that God meets me the most when I am doing household tasks like washing dishes. When I sit down and try to be quite, my mind is flooded with all that needs to be done. But when I am doing another task that doesn't require brain power, the Lord so often ministers to my heart. Thank you for this beautiful post!

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  3. This post made me cry as well. Thank you for sharing that as I will remember that God can meet me anywhere anytime.

    God bless!

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  4. i love to clean. i didn't always, but over the past 11 1/2 mommy years i have grown to love cleaning, and this post is why. though my hands are busy, my mind is still. and it isn't still very often (i especially wish it would be still when i climb into bed, but it won't. i'm so tired).

    and now i'm off to the kitchen sink, to scrub something, to worship, to be still, to meet my Maker.

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  5. Just what I needed to remember in this new season - THANK YOU Sara! What a blessing this post was!

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  6. Sara - I completely relate. Thank you for the reminder that though our hands are busy our hearts can still rest. ugh - definitely needed to hear that today!
    :)

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  7. what an amazing post, Sara. I can relate to this so much that I can't even express. I too am so in awe of Him and how He shows up, every time. I am so undeserving but God is full of mercy and grace. LOVE your blog, and truly you are so gifted with writing and expressing yourself.

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