08 May “Excuse my House, but we Live Here”

My hairdresser works out of her own home. She lives out in the country, down a few long, winding roads, lined with farms. As you drive along, horses and cattle come running to the fence to witness the excitement of a vehicle passing. I love the tranquility of that drive. It makes me fantasize of living in the country and each time, I deliberately look around for houses with For Sale signs.

As I arrive at my hairdresser’s home, I am greeted by 3 or 4 lazy dogs, who barely recognize that I’ve arrived – they’re too busy basking in the hot Texas sun. I walk through a garage – it’s just like mine. It’s obviously used for storage. It’s full of deteriorating boxes, old tools and another dog. There is certainly no place for a car.

“Excuse My House, But We Live Here”

I knock and enter. The lighting is dim and it’s dusty. I see a couple of jackets hung in the hallway; some more have fallen onto the floor. Some muddy boots are thrown under them. There are some magazines piled waist-high in the corner. From the end of the hallway, I can hear the toilet running – mine does the same thing. I’ve got to get it fixed. I timidly call “HELLO!” and from the end of the dim hallway, she emerges. I love this girl. She’s sweet, gentle, kind-hearted, hardworking and a really great Mom. With an easy smile, she greeted me, saying:  “Excuse my house, we live here.”

With that one beautiful sentence, I completely relaxed. I literally felt physical stress drop from my body, and I thought YES! That one sentence seemed to bind us together in unspoken unity. We are Mothers! Our priority is our children and our family – not an phony appearance of perfection!

As Moms, we all know how the time spent on one priority will cause another to be dropped. For me, the first thing to be dropped is the housework. There are days when I won’t answer the door if someone knocks, because our school room has been ransacked by the kids once again and I’m too embarrassed of the mess to open the door. Some days there is so much unfolded laundry dumped on the couch that I can’t sit down. There are days when the crumbs from breakfast are still on the floor when dinner comes around.

Being a Mother is a monumental task!

Being a Mother is a monumental task! And it’s hard. Some days, it’s really, really hard, but doesn’t it make it just a little easier to know that when God chose us to be our children’s Mothers, He knew we were not perfect? He chose us in our imperfection. He chose us, knowing very well that we weren’t organized, that we are impatient and intolerant, that we hated grocery shopping and cleaning the house, and that sometimes we just need a moment to ourselves! We are not perfect human beings, but we are absolutely perfect for our children and our families.

Will my children remember the messy school  room next year? Probably not, because they had fun creating the mess. Will they remember the couch covered in laundry? Probably not, because they certainly enjoyed playing in it this afternoon! Will they remember the crumbs on the floor? I doubt it – but I hope they will remember the talking and laughter as we ate our meals together.

We are raising the next generation, Moms! As Moms, we have been chosen to teach our children how to live. We are in the trenches together so let us extend a little grace to each other, because Lord knows, we all need a little ourselves! “Excuse My House, But We Live Here”