A time to stop blogging regularly

It is a comfort to know that God has created a time for everything, as Ecclesiastes 3 expresses so beautifully.

 To everything there is a season,

      A time for every purpose under heaven:
       A time to be born,
And a time to die;
      A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
       A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
      A time to break down,
And a time to build up . . .
      A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing . . .
      A time to keep,
And a time to throw away . . .
      A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak . . .

Maybe God had busy mummies in mind when he inspired the writer of these verses! There is a time for everything, but not all at once. A couple of months ago, I realised that one person working full time and another person combining chronic pain and motherhood were going to have a hard time keeping up with two babies, a large vegetable garden and two lots of cloth nappies! The baskets of washing were mounting, and Dave doing a pile of dishes in the evening was becoming a regular occurrence (we don't have a dishwasher). It has been a huge blessing that God has provided a couple of teen girls who are willing to work cheerfully in our home. We employ each girl once a week after school for a couple of hours and it eases the workload.

Still, my opportunities to concentrate when I have two hands free are limited and unpredictable. There are many things I would love to do with that time. Often I will begin to imagine what I am going to do with these quiet moments (think sleep, Zulu, cross stitch, patchwork, scrapbooking, blog, emails, phone calls, volunteering for Choices of Life, tummy exercises, sorting papers, finding songs and activities to do as a family, and on it goes) then I'll hear a "WAAAAA" that cannot be ignored! At times I have been frustrated, self-pitying, and even angry. Writing praise points at the end of the day has been a great way to recharge my attitude. Often the praise list took up a page or more! This is much more motivating than writing a to-do list! I aim to love the little years, and part of that is being content with fewer quiet pursuits. This is not the time to blog regularly.

"The Drew Patch" will remain online and I will post our yearly September newsletter here, plus some birthday pictures over the course of the year. Our newsletters are written each year after our wedding anniversary, August 18. I have counted it a privilege to be part of the world of online encouragement, especially with this template designed by Hannah of Graceful Designs. I want out lives online to be a testimony to the abundant grace of God, so that anyone who drop by will see His work in our lives. It is God who has answered my mother's prayers in surprising ways, shown me his mercy in suffering, answered my prayers for a husband and given us the happiest of wedding days, revealed to us the gospel which is God's answer to racism and all other sin, made us passionate about avoiding a wasted life, and gives me the strength each day to keep trying to be a fearless mother.

As I have watched my babies grow, and the garden's summer beauty fade, I have felt sorry that Mercy's chubby hands will thin out and soon the corn plot will be empty. Part of me wants to hold onto the baby fat. God has reminded me that He gives in abundance. My tiny baby will grow up, but there will be other babies even if not my own. The tomatoes will die off, but there will be another year. I will not blog regularly right now, but there will be other opportunities to share and to write, and lots of wonderful blogs to read. Even when God does take all our earthly blessings, it is only to give us something better! Better than a baby's laughter, a sweet home grown corn cob, and the timely encouragement of a friend, yet somehow the fulfillment of all that is good here on earth. God first gives us Christ, and then He gives us all good gifts!

Thanks for reading, commenting, and praying!