Routine. I love it. I like knowing what is coming next. I like being able to prepare for events that are coming up. I like being able to brace myself for any type of emotion that might come with an event.
However, I also know that life is incredibility unpredictable. And that often makes things very difficult for me.
With Dusty working this new job that has him gone so much I am having to completely re-evaluate how I go about my day. The day time hasn’t really changed much. I still spend the day changing out laundry, cleaning (sorta) and loving on at least 2, if not more, beautiful children. I do my best to squeeze in working out, homework, blogging, and building relationships.
It’s the evenings and weekends that have had to be adjusted.
You would think that since we are a home-school family the bustle of dinner and evening routines wouldn’t be a big deal. However, there is something about getting dinner cooked and cleaned up, bath times, evening devotionals, and bed time kisses that makes everyone go crazy. Especially when I am having to do things on my own.
Top it all off we are spending most weekends in one motel or another so that we have the opportunity to get to spend some time as a family. While I love being able to spend time with my husband and have my kids get to see their daddy, I have to say I am not a huge fan of being trapped in a small room. (Not that our apartment is much bigger) To add to that we are having to eat out rather than be able to prepare our own food at home.
I know that this is not a ‘forever’ situation but I have spent a lot of time thinking about the ins and outs of why God has placed this particular opportunity in our lives.
I think back to the time when Dusty was pastoring full time when we were still in Hobbs. Even though for most of that time it was just the two of us there was a lot of times I ended up having to get dinner by myself (or some really good friends), take care of chores, shopping, and managing daily life on my own, and still be prepared to be by his side if there came a chance that he needed me to be there. I was also working a full time job as a preschool teacher so there were also lesson plans to be prepared, papers to be sorted, and projects to be completed.
Today, I am basically doing the exact same thing and the time Dusty has to spend with us is precious and to be treasured. I feel like this is just another way God is preparing us for going back into full-time ministry. To prepare my heart and to thicken up my skin a bit for when the church will need him more than I will.
I am sure that we won’t always be spending our weekends living out of a motel room, but we might be spending weekends eating dinner without daddy because he is spending his in a hospital beside a friend in need. We might always have to take fun field trips to the zoo or park on our own because Daddy is helping a family prepare for a new journey through marriage.
No matter what the reason it is my job to make sure that the kids don’t look at it as another thing taking dad away but rather a chance to see Jesus in action. Instead of complaining that I am tired of being all on my own to handle the hard stuff I need to be thankful that my husband is willing to serve an any way he is called to do. It isn’t always going to be easy (trust me, it’s no walk in the park right now either) but it will be do-able.
A Wise Woman in Progress 