Love to a Thousand Generations

A few weeks ago, I was at the dentist for a checkup at 7am and I found myself telling the woman who was cleaning my teeth that it was nice to be out of the house by myself.  Then I laughed at what I had just said.  An early morning dentist appointment was an escape.  I am remembering this scenario because today I was told that I have to get an MRI on my shoulder next week.  When the doctor told me that I could listen to music while laying down for 45 minutes, I thought, that sounds peaceful!  I might even take a nap!  

While my life might lack quiet (until 9pm...hooray for a quiet house!), it certainly does not lack fun, joy, and life. These boys are such gifts. I love the questions Mr. Mister asks as he learns so much every day. And I love the sound of Mr. Newton's chattering and giggling at everything he does.  I love how they both get so excited to go outside and how they laugh together in their room when they are supposed to be napping. And how Mr. Mister always wants one more Bible story.  And how Mr. Newton stops whatever he is doing and bolts to the bathtub when he hears the water start running. 

I could go on and on.  So even on a difficult day where it felt like I was doing nothing more than cleaning banana off the floor for the hundreth time and putting away the same things I thought I just put away, I know that this is exactly where I want to be and I know I am doing much more than these tasks. Today, on the verge of a breakdown, I put the broom down and imagined who these boys are going to be someday. I am sowing seeds into a far greater reality than I can see right now.  And that makes the seemingly mundane incredibly worthwhile. 

Yes, I'll take a quiet escape or a night out here and there, but I wouldn't take one hundred quiet days in exchange for the opportunity to love these boys and raise up the next generation of men who love Jesus...to leave a legacy through them and hopefully for generations to come after them. 

"...but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments" (Exodus 20:6)