My post today is from a personal perspective. I share this perspective in the hopes that my readers will have the benefit of the lessons I’m learning.. For it’s all about taking to heart the Truths designed to smooth out the rough places along life’s path and in the process prove God’s ways work.
Coming up this week is what my family has come to call Nammy Camp. It’s an event for as many of the 20 of us who can attend. There are 20 of us in all. At present two families live out of state. In order to bunk all of us comfortably, a couple of outside tents are required to expand sleeping quarters. Of course, the adults claim the bedrooms (six in all) and the grans (7 years to 17 years) get to bunk out in the tents. Everyone is happy!
In the years past, my aim was to clean every nook and cranny. That meant windows (all 26 of them), the siding on a two story house, rugs cleaned & carpets shampooed, furniture dusted, bed linens washed and put on beds (all 6 of them) touch up painting in all the rooms, etc., etc. Then there was the outside. Pool needed to be all clean and clear (involving a lot of work), yard mowed (a rather large space which included weed eating and trimming with a push mower), spruce up the deck and front porch, etc., etc. Projects that fell to my strengths alone. Almost predictably by the time people family began arriving, I was drained. All I wanted to do was to sit down and stay that way. But there were expectations that since I was the hostess, there was meal planning, activity planning, etc., etc.
This year proved to be a game changer for me. Last fall my mother in law had to move in with us as the result of a stroke and for the last several years I have attended to my own mother’s care (she turns 100 in a few weeks). And over the past months, the realities of my limitations became glaringly clear. Since my energies have been sapped long before Nammy Camp arrived, there was simply no way I could take on Nammy Camp as I had in the past.
Slowly, perhaps too slowly, I have come to realize that all those things I did to prepare for Nammy Camp weren’t mandatory. My own decline in energy, being 74 myself, no longer was up to the preparations. While Nammy camp was looked forward to zeal and excitement, I can say that being drained as I was, it did dampen things for me personally. The negative, you know, fiery darts bombarded my thoughts. It was a constant struggle to keep them from distracting me from enjoying the sacred family moments that always came forth during this time.
Now this year NC has rolled around again. And I’ve long been praying for God to protect this time my family has together. In caring for both Mothers, I have learned more of how to take the days as they come. Do what you can and don’t worry about what you can’t do. Keep God’s plans as your primary perspective. He is in control and always works things out for what is best for us and proves to those around us that relying on God’s plans is the smart thing to do.
Fiery Darts: Satan's Weapon of Choice 