Eat, Drink, Find Joy

Today we begin our serious schedule. We have been easing into the swing of school since the beginning of August by reading and working on math. A week or two ago we added government, but today we are adding the full compliment of courses for each child. In addition, driver's ed continues this week, Bible study begins, piano lessons resume, and of course, baseball practice - all this week.

So being the planning kind of person that I am, I have it all planned out beginning with getting in bed on time last night so that we can rise and shine early to get the jump on a very busy day. We even discussed over dinner how the week would be, what kinds of things we expect this school year, and how we are getting back in the habit of getting up early. What was I thinking?

The evening began with Kelsey asleep on time and I follow by getting in bed at a very reasonable hour (thank God). I read for a bit, but decided to go on to sleep since a well-rested mommy is less likely to be grumpy. But just under an hour into my slumber, my sweet Jonathan cannot sleep, so I let him climb in bed for a while and I go right back to sleep. Then a little while later, my precious Kelsey awakes from her sleep announcing that she needs to potty. Now I am excited that she is using the potty, but she has on pull-ups at night (I wanted to remind her of this, but I didn't). Off to the potty we go, and then to the kitchen for ice water. Finally settled back in bed (Jonathan back in his own bed), I dose off only to be awakened by this tiny voice whispering, "I need to go to the potty." I won't bore you with the details, but yes, this scenario continued on until around 3:30 this morning when sleep finally came to this little child and I was able to snooze for just a few hours.

About seven, I stumbled out of bed and just as I entered the living room, Ken hurries to get coffee - he knew it had been a long night. All I could say was, "Why does this have to be so hard?" I mean I had the perfect plan for beginning our week and staying up half the night with a two year old who couldn't sleep was not part of the plan.

So as I settled down to drink my second cup of coffee, I pulled out my One-Year Bible, knowing I could not face this day without hearing something from God. Ecclesiastes - great! Everything is meaningless, everyone dies and no one remembers. Well that was encouraging. Okay, sarcasm aside, I read the first two chapters carefully and here's what I saw. Yes, everything I am striving for is meaningless. The degrees we are chasing after, all the stuff we are acquiring, but Solomon said that without God there is no enjoyment. You see God set eternity in the hearts of men, so even after all the useless striving, there is still eternity - the hope that we shall be with God and this brings joy. So here's the plan: be happy, do good, eat and drink and find satisfaction in my work.

There really is nothing better than to enjoy whatever work you are doing. After all, it is a form of worship to God. So eyes tired, heart encouraged, I set out to do just that.

Update:

I am happy to say that we did survive the day. Actually, it was better than surviving - it was enjoyable.