What a Mess!

These past days have been so gloriously sunny.  On Monday, my kids and I went to piano lessons. Those of us who did not have lessons made a snowman, a snow dog and a snow mouse on half of the teacher's lawn while tiny purple crocuses stretched up on the other half of the lawn.

Crocuses bursting forth into spring.

Bravely, even while snow coated and layered down in a heavy, mushy slushy blanket a short distance away.   Don't you just love crocuses?.....they don't just tentatively grow or peek up little green shoots, but they pop out into full bloom on that first great and sunny day even while snow is still all around!

While the snow has been melting away, our children have celebrated by breaking out their shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops.  My four-year old was so excited; he has been trying to sneak those flip-flops on all winter!  Nothing like flip-flopping through knee deep snow.

All four kids followed by one giant yellow lab sailed out the back door into spring!  They were greeted with warm sunshine, greening grass and that moist pungent odor of doggie doo-doo.

"Quick, everyone, get back here and get some poop bags!" I ordered frantically and unrolled several pink-patterned, lightly scented poop bags.  I love these bags.  They are pretty enough to be party favours at a girlie birthday party and they come in sweet smells like "Vanilla Bean" or "Lavender Lace".  Did someone tell them their ultimate destination or did they only realize it as they descended down to do doo-doo duty?  Poor poop bags.

Four children ran and flip-flopped back to me at the back door and each donned a poop bag on their hand.

"It's like a treasure hunt!" I always say but they no longer get caught up in the excitement of this game.  I don't know why not!?

After several poops were successfully scooped, our kids ran around the backyard with reckless abandon.  As if rediscovering each corner.  The sandbox claimed two of them and they dug and shaped the sand into kingdoms.  Two other ones found the eight million balls and hockey pucks that we lose in snow banks over the course of the winter.   One yellow dog raced up and down and all around the yard like a crazy, frenzied fiend, dirt spraying up from his racing paws.  They all looked so happy but all I could see was mess.  Yucky sandy fingernails, mud soaked shoes and muddy paws.  Someone slipped and the dog raced over to investigate and lick lick lick.  Ugh, I thought, more laundry.  Gross gross gross.  I began to fell annoyed and angry.  This mess meant more work for me.....more laundry which I never can catch up on.  In fact, several heaping loads were just waiting to be folded upstairs....every time I passed by them they would call out to me....

"Foooold us....fooooold us!!!" pieces of laundry would plead and I even think I saw a t-shirt lift its armless sleeves towards me plaintively the last time I walked by and pretended I didn't see it...

More laundry.  Dirty shoes to clean.  Hair to wash.  Muddy pawed window to scrub.  And, ugh....the dog.....he was gleefully racing about with ears turned inside out...but he was FILTHY!  SANDY!  ICKY! GROSS!

Ever have moments like this?
The mess is more than the moment.
I couldn't enjoy the sun because I was mired in the messiness of it all.

My life is like that right now.

I'm having trouble seeing some of the sunshine because I am contemplating the messy clean-up.  And it is so much work.  And I am so tired.
Maybe you are too.

I read this this morning from Jeremiah 17: 7, 8:
"Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.  "

Is my trust IN the LORD?
Is my trust the LORD?
I don't know but I am certainly going to keep on praying.  Keep on trusting in His plan.
I know the kids and the dog were able to feel so recklessly joyful because they did not have to worry about messy cleanup.  I get that blatantly obvious fact.  But maybe they could help with cleanup.   Many hands, right?  Maybe I could worry about cleanup later and enjoy the mess now.

I think I will step boldly out into that sunshine pouring down like heavenly rays from above and feel its warmth for a while.