Tuesday, October 6

The greater gift

Yesterday I wrote a post about my kitchen. I made sure that everything was nicely put away and I cleaned my countertops to perfection and I took pictures. I'm not a great photographer, but I was proud of my photos of my lovely kitchen.

I took those photos at 1:00 yesterday afternoon. 18 hours later, my kitchen looked as if a storm had passed through. What happened? I had it looking wonderful--picture-perfect!--just a few hours ago!

So I muttered under my breath and started to, none too graciously, restore order to this space, when my eye fell upon this:



A little plate I inherited from my grandmother.

My grandmother was a wise woman. I am thankful for this reminder.

My kitchen is a lovely gift from God, and I am grateful. "Every good gift. . . is from above" (James 1:17). I know this is true, and I want to use this gift to its fullest potential. But even greater than the gift of my home is the gift of my family. Mess-making, chaos-creating people though they may be, they are a far greater treasure than my nice kitchen.

And so I will wash the dishes and throw away the trash and wipe up the crumbs. And I will fall on my knees in gratitude that I have a precious family to make my kitchen dirty enough to be happy.

--Unwrapped at Emily's this Tuesday


18 comments:

  1. Thank you for writing this! Every day, at least 3 times a day I hear myself saying "I JUST cleaned this room! How? HOW, please tell me, can it already be such a mess?"

    I am continually surprised how much a lot of these Tuesdays carry similar themes between the unwrappers. Its as if the Lord wants to whisper the same sweet message of rest to all of us at the same time :) Love it.

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  2. I, all too often, find myself grumbling about the mess rather than being thankful that I have those that create the mess.

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  3. Love it! That describes my kitchen, although I think I'm only borderline-healthy ;) But like you said, it's the family that is the priority, not a magazine-ready kitchen

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  4. "mess-making, chaos creating people"..I love it! What a blessing they are :)!
    Thanks for writing!
    Amy

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  5. Messy kitchens are a sign of mental health! :)

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  6. I live with some mess-making chaos-creators myself. :) I kid about it, I write about far too frequently, but I struggle with my mess (because it borders on dirty...) so thank you for the reminder to be grateful for the happy family that's making it.

    I actually have a mantra I repeat for my own sanity - my house is usually messy but my kids are usually happy.

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  7. I live this too. Especially in the summer. Of course the kids sometimes clean up after themselves.. but it's never the same, and constant constant.

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  8. just catching up and read your kitchen post, I love what you did in your shadow boxes, but I can relate, I would totally have stressed out for a while too;) Your kitchen looks beautiful. I can't keep mine clean either!

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  9. Thank you friend! I cannot be reminded of this enough...today especially.

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  10. I think I would need to read this post every day for a year for it to really sink in -- I really struggle with balancing chaos with happiness. I am in constant motion, always "picking up." The plus side is that I think I must torch mega calories, always being on the move. The downside, of course, is that I neglect my kids far too often in favor of a crumbless floor and a spotless stove. Not a great choice in the end.

    Thanks for the reminder!

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  11. Wonderful little plate (and reminder)! I have a plaque from that hung in my grandma's kitchen - this is what is says,
    "Thank God for dirty dishes,
    they have a tale to tell,
    while others may go hungry,
    we're eating very well.
    With home, health and happiness,
    I shouldn't want to fuss.
    By the stack of evidence,
    God's been very good to us."

    It's a good reminder that serving is a blessing - and I NEED to read it everyday!

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  12. I used to have a friend in high school who said that he liked to come over to my house, because it always looked like a home, not like a magazine. His parents lived in a rather expensive, but rather empty, house. We lived in a tiny home that was full of love and homemade cookies. My mother was thrilled when I relayed this comment to her.

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  13. Amen. You have such a gift for putting into words, what is in your heart. That is precisely why I love you so much Richella.

    Hugs
    ~Amanda

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  14. I love being in my kitchen---love it for what it means---that I have a family to cook for...even if that means lots of clean-up time. But, when I sweep up the food that my little toddler has thrown on the floor for the millionth time, I will remember to be thankful. What a wonderful reminder the little saying on your plate is. Thanks for sharing!

    -Grace

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  15. I was so excited with your reply to my post! I spent 30 minutes just breesing through the patterns and selections...loved it! I had heard before that they hold up beautifully and hide a lot :)! I think I even have some kind of an outlet in my neck of the woods..must look into this. THank you for all your great advice, I loved it!

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  16. Thank you for this. So true and such a timely reminder.

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  17. Amen, Sister! What an awesome perspective you give! God bless!

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