Ramzee turns 8 tomorrow.
And while I’m thrilled to pieces that she doesn’t wear diapers and wipes
her own bodily secretions, I’m thwarted by the fact that she has an opinion.
Yep…8-year-olds have opinions. I’m betting mine has one of the more prominent opinions
in her eighth year which could have been foretold by this picture when she was a wee lass of about 4.
I tried my absolute best to steer her toward a skating party,
a bowling party, a boucy housy inflatable place party, HECK I’d even suffer
through 2 hours of Chuck E Cheese to celebrate her day. But moms know nothing…we
know no things. She kept saying, “I just
want to have my party at home.” Funny, it took her less than a year to forget
how WE DON’T HAVE A MAID ANYMORE.
Here’s the problem. I am not one of those moms/housekeepers
that loses sleep over an untidy house. When you think to yourself, “Ummm. Clean
house? Or get in a nice comfy warm bed next to Ole Jus?” Yeah, me too. Same story
‘bout middle of the afternoon sometimes involving the sofa. I keep the toilets
sanitized and the kitchen counters usually wiped and disinfected, but whatever
I do the universe will not allow my home in its entirety to be clean all at
once. What about the fact that our yard isn’t much more beautiful than the
pasture surrounding it? What about the fact that I like to keep my bills and
papers strewn all over my desk? What
about the fact that we have a refrigerator on our porch? Yes. We have a
refrigerator ON. OUR. PORCH. Long story short…it is an old fridge that Justin got
for free and plans to use in his barn which has yet to be erected. God bless
the rednecks. So 6 days out, I committed to having a birthday party at our
house. (Insert “defeated” emoji here) As I informed Ole Jus of the party plans
I asked, “And what about this refrigerator?” Proving that he and I are never on
the same page he says, “What? You want me to plug it in?”
I’m sure no one else will admit it does this but, when
I go to people’s houses I look around. Some may call it snooping. Ole Jus
Some would say I’m nosey, but I’d say I’m curious. If someone comes to my house
and locks themselves in the bathroom I believe they have every right to browse
through the cabinets. Maybe they might like to take note of my hair products…who
knows!? So I was at a Sunday school party in one of our friend’s home. After I
finished up my business in the ladies’ room, I took a look behind the curtain
and you won’t believe it! They used their tub for storage! It looked like they
ran through the house gathering up clutter before the party guests arrived and
threw it all in the bathtub. My thoughts? GENIUS! She welcomed us into her home
despite the mess. She knew she could sweep a little dirt under the rug and we
wouldn’t care. And we were blessed that night.
We were able to come together as Christian couples and enjoy fellowship
and build relationships that will last well past this lifetime.
1 Samuel
16:7 tells us this…
“… The Lord does not look at the things people
look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
When I saw my friend’s bathtub filled with stuff I had a new
appreciation for her. It proved what I already knew…we are all the same. I’d hate to
miss an opportunity because I was so worried about what I or my house looks
like on the outside. If God knows about my weedy yard, messy desk and floors
you could never eat off of then I suppose I could open my home to some of our
close friends and family to give my opinionated 8 year-old what she wants for
her big day. I am who I am, and my house will be what it is.
So that’s the lesson…no matter how good we make the outside
look when you pull back the curtain next to the toilet we all have a little
clutter…We are all the same. It’s simply a matter of letting people in to get
to know us and our mess…FROM THIS SIDE OF THIRTY.
Labels: Life, Ramzee
