The Obstacles Against Making Your Home a Haven

My earnest desire is to make our home a beautiful haven of rest and peace. I would love to have a perfectly spotless home, plenty of time to make my favorite crafts, delicious 5-star meals every night, and well-behaved little angels.

We can't have everything we want in this world.

So, even though I'm making a major attempt to de-clutter, organize and freshen our home, this week and every week, I realize that life isn't neat and organized and perfect all the time. For instance, today I have a bad cold and would rather lay on the couch or sit at the computer than do anything. I'm pooped and feeling icky! Not only that, but my kids will never be perfect and will always keep me on my toes and stretch my patience. I will work on a lovely meal only to realize that my whole kitchen is a disaster now and needs cleaned. I will clean the kitchen during which the kids will empty every toy they own on the living room carpet. I'll enforce the cleaning up, which takes forever, only to notice another mess in their bedroom, another mess in my kitchen, the accidental spilling of something on the carpet, someone getting into something they shouldn't have, etc. Then, just when I think I've gotten things taken care of, and cleaned up, two of the neighbor kids will show up and help my kids destroy the house again. Uuughhh!

The comic strips of late in the local paper have been almost prophetic in what has happened in my life as a mom recently. A Baby Blue's comic this Sunday about the mom having to peel her kids off her legs with a crowbar for some alone time made sense to me when I fought off the screaming little ones on Monday night for about 15 minutes so I could get out the door to a church meeting. The above comic illustrates my exact feelings most days! Especially today when my little boy decided to dunk the remote in the toliet and throw some of his sister's best toys in the garbage can. My kids have done everything pictured above and about a billion other naughty things.

Making your home a haven is mostly about attitude and not about cleaning. I have been to homes that weren't perfectly spotless but reflected the sweetness of a God-fearing mama and a warm cozy feeling. I have been in homes where there isn't a speck of dust or dirt but the feeling is icy and sterile. I want to have a clean home, but most importantly I want to have a home where Mama is a happy and kind Mama, always ready to listen and help and be a servant.

Someday I look forward to having a home of our own with more space. Someday I may have a lovely place that STAYS clean and more time on my hands once our children are grown. But, for now, I can only do what I can do with what I have and that means controlling the chaos as much as possible and not fretting over the rest!