The Perfect Day

There are two “perfect days” Samuel and I have had over the years… The first was August 4, 2000. We had broken up in April. He was saved in July, and then August 4th, we started dating again. Since then, we have always called August 4th the perfect day. Caroline was born August 11th, and the headline was “The Perfect Day.”

I am still adjusting to having an infant and a toddler in the house all day every day- still learning how to make everything happen before I crash for the night. Someone asked me last week how the moms at the Ramp do it. How are we full-time moms and wives, burning for God, active on the ministry team, involved in the services, and so on.  I wish I knew. The question sparked so many thoughts. Among them are of the perfect day.

My perfectly structured day would look something like this…
6:45 am     I wake up after a full night’s rest. I fix a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and sit down at the breakfast table with my Bible.

7:00-8:00     I am praying and studying the Word while the children are sleeping. The house is quiet, and I can really focus. By now, I have moved to the living room sofa and am sitting in front of the picture window where the sun rises each morning. The sunlight spilling through the trees and fog is the perfect backdrop.

8:00-Lunch     The kids wake up and I make them breakfast (and myself second breakfast if chocolate chip pancakes are on the menu). I have to clean the kitchen, which naturally leads into other random household chores. I seem to do these best in the morning. While they watch a movie, I get ready for the day.
After he’s finished eating, I work with William on something educational- his reading cards, numbers, letters, etc. Then, if the weather is nice, we take a walk in the stroller, or if need be, we run errands around town. We come home, eat a simple lunch, and go for a nap-time ride.

1:00-3:00      William should be napping, Caroline is probably asleep too, and I have mommy time. Usually this means laundry time. It needs to mean work-out time if I’m going to be in shape by Christmas production, but that’s another blog another day.

3:30-7:00    I need to start thinking about dinner. We like to eat early, so I’m usually cooking by 4. By 6:30, we’ve all eaten and the kitchen is clean.

7:00-8:00   Bath time for the kids, pj’s, teeth brushed, clothes down the chute, night-time stories read, & lights out.

8:00- bedtime    The marathon is over.

This day rarely happens, but maybe just getting it out of my head and into words will put a bit of motivation behind it. Being a wife & mom is a more than a full-time job. Way more. Throw in helping to fuel a great awakening, and it can be a bit overwhelming. But somehow, the grace to just do it is always there.
Right now especially, I can’t make it to all the services, but I almost always watch online. When I do make it to the services, I usually sit in the green room and watch on the screen. It’s not like being in the sanctuary, but it keeps me a part of what’s going on.

The bottom line is that I can do this. And maybe this whole thing is just to tell myself that again (I missed tonight’s service so I could get the kids in bed). There were lots of women who set examples of how to raise children in a home that is burning for God- some of those women raised a lot more than 3 children. The thing that distinguishes the successful Christian moms who raised successful Christian children is simply that they did it. Every day. Damon Thompson defines spiritual maturity as the “consistent application of elementary things.” This is true for successful mothering too. It’s not in having a weekend to cram motherhood in; it’s the every day instilling of structure and prayer in their lives. They are observing so much more than we realize, and we are laying a foundation that the future structure of their every day lives will be built on.

So, what are we teaching our children by our lives- our habits, our free time, our priorities? What does the perfect day need to look like? What’s keeping us from living it? If you are a parent, nothing is more important than making sure that your children see what Christianity is supposed to look like in you. If there’s anything hindering that vision, pay whatever it costs to change it.