As a homeschooling Mom, I have all of these lovely ideas in my head each year (usually in early August) about how our homeschool year is going to go. We will do all kinds of science projects, I will read great books aloud, we will learn interesting things about History. I have a beautifully planned out white board, complete with daily chore assignments for each child, color coordinated no less!
And then the school year begins. Instead of patient instructor, molder and shaper of young minds, I usually find myself holding back the chaos. For the most part, my older children do a good job of getting their schoolwork and chores done. They are showing more maturity all the time. However, my younger ones are still like a three-person wrecking crew. No matter how many times I remind them what they are supposed to do at different times of the day, the information simply falls out of their heads! It does not matter how many charts, alarms or reminders I set, unless I am physically present in the room giving them reminders, chaos ensues.
Sometimes I wish I could bottle their destructive ability and sell it. No more need for explosives when demolishing a building, just let my kids play in it for an hour! It never ceases to amaze me. I will have just had them clean up the kitchen and living room. They will be quietly playing so I slip into the other room for just a couple minutes to do something. I walk back in and–chaos! Somehow in that short amount of time they have managed to eat a snack and wipe out the entire kitchen and table and floor and to also have brought in what appears to be every item they own from their bedrooms! Most days I think my full time job could be simply sitting on a stool in the middle of the house directing traffic and keeping the chaos at bay. I do have hope that one day these younger three will become more responsible like their older siblings, but there are also days that I worry we may have all spoiled them a little too much.
God is also in the business of holding back the chaos. Even though things can look very dark in the world, He is actually keeping evil from completely reigning. He provides blessings for everyone, not just people who know Him. He created light in the dark and Jesus is even described as the Light in the darkness (or chaos). God was the one Who held back the waters for His people to walk through on dry land to escape the Egyptians and He is still the One holding back destruction in our lives, even when it feels like everything is falling apart.
He has promised to hold back the chaos until the end of the world. In the meantime, we as His followers can also hold back the evil and darkness. We are to be His light to others, sharing the good news of salvation with them. We can encourage one another as well when the darkness threatens to overwhelm us. And we can continue to hold back the chaos in our own families through prayer and it seems for me, perched on a stool right in the middle of it all!
“For this is what the Lord says, who created the heavens He is God, and the One Who formed the earth and made it, and He is the one Who established it, He didn’t create it for chaos.” Isaiah 45:18
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