Do you see this photo? I love the neat pile. It symbolizes how I want my life to be. It symbolizes how I want my home to look like, my marriage, my family life, even my hair for Pete’s sake!
My hair is seriously a disaster today. It looks like I rolled out of bed and never looked in the mirror. The truth is I did roll out of bed after getting the worst nights sleep in months. The truth is I did look in the mirror and am completely horrified. But the rest of the truth is it’s 7pm and I never did anything about my rat’s nest.
Why bother? I’m about to roll around all night again. Get up, work out, get sweaty all over again.
When I look at this picture I feel totally like the pile on left. I feel so messy, disorganized, undisciplined, unfocused. Maybe I’m just having a bad day.
You know what? Sometimes that’s completely okay. It’s okay to have an off day. It’s okay to be digging out of the laundry pile on Thursday from Monday’s wash. It’s okay to eat cereal for dinner now and then.
But do you know when it’s not okay? It’s not okay for me to represent that pile of mess on the left. It’s not how I operate in love. It’s not how I’m efficient.
It’s not okay for me to to have an off day 3 days in a row. It’s not okay for me to feel like life’s a big frenzy and I don’t which way is right and which way is left. It’s not okay for me to forget about my hair for the entire month of November. (Even though I wish I could!)
Why?
Because it makes me lazy. I want to look good for my husband. I don’t want to give up on my house even if it is just going to get dirty again. I don’t want to feel like I’m falling apart as a mother.
I need to be diligent. If I get lazy in some area it totally topples into other areas of my life as well.
Can you see how it happens?
Well, I never worked out today. So why bother getting dressed. Who cares? I ate crap all day anyway. What’s the use? Now, I’m so tired that I don’t have the energy for my kids so I snap and vent. I’m frustrated at the kids so when the hubby walks in he gets snapped at to because there is no off button.
It happens all too easily. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Experienced it in the most real way.
Today I’m choosing diligence. In my faith. In my family. In my duties as mother. In my attitude. It makes all the difference in the world.
Proverbs 12:24 Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
Proverbs 13:4 Lazy people want much but get little, while the diligent are prospering.
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