ezra 6

I'm sitting here tonight, watching my 15 year old work on a paper. It's one she doesn't particularly want to do and she's been sitting at the computer for too long wondering if she can even get it done. She could have gotten an earlier start, but honestly, it's hard to put work into something when you're not sure if you'll succeed. I get that. It's why I let the laundry get completely out of control. It's the reason that right now, my office looks like a small dog threw everything off the desk and made a giant mess in the quest of ridding the neighborhood of neighbors and dogs and leaves and suspicious looking rocks (and also because that is what happened in there). I'm not sure I'll ever be able to recreate the binder that once held three years worth of IEP information that is now scattered all over my office. And so, I close the door. 

The exiles who have returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple have faced all kinds of opposition. In chapter 5, when they started to rebuild after being told to cease and desist once, more opposition arose. Another letter was sent to a new king, and while the building continued while they awaited his response, I bet that there were days that it felt pointless. Why keep building in the face of such opposition? But they did continue! When they received the response from King Darius, there must have been a collective sigh of relief.

God is so faithful! When Paul says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose," he knew it to be true. He had mounds and mounds of evidence. He'd seen it in his own life and in the lives of those around him, but he'd also seen God's faithfulness played out again and again on the pages of scripture. Dear one, do you know today that God is faithful? 

Many of the items on a mom's "To Do List" are revolving tasks. We do them again and again. As soon as the laundry is completed, more somehow shows up. By the time we finish wiping the counters down, milk is spilled back where we started. We can end up feeling like we don't make any real progress and we don't have any real purpose. Beloved, you do have purpose! God is faithful. You have a purpose and He has a plan! Trust His faithfulness and His plan. Keep at whatever He has called you to according to His purpose. 

At the end of chapter 6, the temple has been completed! An overwhelming job got done, because a group of people trusted that God would be faithful to complete it against all odds. I think it's important to look at what the people did at this juncture.

First they dedicated the temple. They rightly gave the glory to God. How often do you crawl and scratch and pray your way through a difficult task and then relish in the feeling of accomplishment instead of glorifying the Lord? I am so guilty of this! When it seems impossible to get the van cleaned out and yet somehow it gets done, I tend to drive around feeling pretty good about myself and forgetting that God provided not only the van and the tools to clean it out, but also the time I needed to get it done. 

Second, they celebrated Passover with joy. This was not only a joyful celebration, but an act of obedience. When the task we've been called to is accomplished, the obedience must continue, and our joy should be great. 

tip: 

Time Boxing. We can lose days to the revolving tasks we face as moms and end up weary and discouraged when we realize we're still not done! Identify your revolving tasks, and consider limiting the time you spend on them.

• Fold laundry for 30 minutes.
• Only go grocery shopping once a week.
• Plan your meals so you don't spend extra time figuring them out in the moment.

tool:

Planning a menu isn't as hard as it sounds. You can get my simple menu planner for free just by signing up for the let us belove(d) monthly newsletter, or make your own. It can be a chart or a list. Just fill out what you plan to eat each day. Keep it general and don't be afraid to switch things around through out the week. Have a couple easy back up meals on hand in case circumstances change. Plan your grocery shopping using your menu planner so that you have everything you need to make your meals.