Mess

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4

This is the refrain that I keep repeating to myself at this season of my life, although my version goes something more like this:

Where there are no children, the house is clean, but abundant joy comes by the company of a child.

I think this to myself as I scan my house. The stained carpet. The remote-control-car-battered baseboards. The stray colored pencil left by my creative one. The hand prints in funky places on the walls. The multitude of books lying half-read and scattered across the living room sofa. The socks abandoned inexplicably on the stairs in the middle of summer. The relentless duties of cooking, cleaning up, and laundry. The room full of homeschool materials. The endless stream of crafts, drawings, party favors, toys, and assorted oddments that have taken up residence in my home. The closets and drawers that I can never quite find the energy to organize. And so on and so forth.

If I had no children, it is true that much of this would be a non-issue. I would have a smaller, cleaner home. I would have sparkling windows, freshly-painted everything, maybe even a well-tended garden. My dogs would behave. I may not even have dogs. Or cats. And so on and so forth.

But there is so much I would miss... The sweet morning greeting of a still-sleepy child. The spontaneous hugs. The hilariously random things they say. The precious moments snuggled up sharing a book or movie together. Giggles and shrieks of laughter. That deep, adoring gaze that I sometimes catch in a quiet moment. The delicious moment when you have encouraged them in a way that no one else can quite manage. The endless stream of drawings, love notes, and homemade gifts. The excitement of birthdays, Christmas morning, and Easter. The "Ah-Ha!" moments when something clicks as we read the Bible together. The privilege of seeing them grow to love the Lord. The somewhat scary, somewhat exhilarating feeling of watching them grow from a tiny, helpless newborn to young men and women. The wonder of seeing the world for the first time all over again through their eyes. And so on and so forth.
I am glad for my not-perfectly-clean house, or at least for the reason behind it. True, raising children is the most challenging and difficult job I have ever had. It is simultaneously frustrating and rewarding. It is humbling and it it causes me to rely on God in ways I probably never would have otherwise. It is scary when I think of the consequences of failing, of the many painful things that can happen, of the hardships that they may have to endure. However, it is also the most intensely powerful emotional experience I have ever had, and it has given me new insight on what it means to be God's child when I see what it means to be a parent.

And I choose to overlook my mess in favor of the awesome and enthralling privilege of loving these three small people and shepherding them into adulthood.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.