I had all 5 kids "trapped" in the small playroom downstairs in an attempt to not have a huge mess (yet again) upstairs. BUT, the afternoon was slipping away, and as 3 pm approached, I knew we needed to clean up and head upstairs to be ready when the moms came to pick up their kiddos. And so we -- just me, really, if we want to be honest -- began the process of putting the toys back in their colored bins. Coralyn was doing her best to help me, but didn't seem to think it fair that the other 4 children (all 21 months or younger) were not "doing their share," as the song she was singing said. I, too, was getting exasperated, but knew that I couldn't leave the room cluttered or else I would not be able to sleep later (yes, it's true).
Coralyn and I were finally able to get all the plastic food in a bag and stashed in the grocery cart. I set the cart by the play kitchen and moved on to the stacking cups that were strung everywhere. By the time I had all the cups put in order from biggest to smallest, one of the daycare kiddos had grabbed the full grocery cart, tipped it over, and spilled everything on the floor.
I turned to clean up the food, once more, only to have Kellah grab hold of the neatly stacked cups and pull them apart one by one.
Somehow, all the toys got put away in their proper place...and no children were hurt in the process! As quickly as possible, I ushered all 5 children out the door and up the stairs -- no small feat, mind you! We all arrived safely at the top of the stairs and headed into the living room, where the precious kiddos proceeded to dumb the entire basket of toys I had hidden under the coffee table.
When they were done playing with those balls, trucks, purses, stuffed animals, and other random items, they moved on to Coralyn's room. Thankfully, I hadn't picked up in her room yet. During "nap" time she had emptied every single container of toys, books, blocks, dolls, puzzles, and anything else she could find. Small price to pay for almost 2 hours of "mommy time." And so, we (read: just me) began the process of cleaning up once more.
When all the daycare kiddos had left by 4:30, I loaded up the girls in the car to run and get groceries before coming home to put them all way, eat supper, and leave by 6:30 to go to a running Bible study group. You would think I would have been tired of running, seeing as how I had been running around the house all day. Yet, that 2 and a half hours out of the house without any kids was pretty fabulous. Not once did I have to pick up a single toy!
As I was considering throwing my hands up in the air and giving up the idea of having all the toys neatly put away, I wondered if God ever felt the same way. I bet if He made a Somee card, it would go something like:
Running the world with humans still in it is like
trying to put toys away with 5 toddlers in the room.
Does God ever wants to tell us, "Just go away and let Me do this by Myself. It will be sooo much easier without your 'help'!"
Thankfully, He isn't that kind of God. He is so patient, compassionate, gracious, merciful, understanding, gentle, forgiving. "The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love." Numbers 14:18
Hmmmm, maybe I need to be more like God in my parenting techniques.
And having less toys around the house wouldn't hurt either! :)
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