What a week part two

About an hour after we tackled grumbling, Joel was hanging out with me in the kitchen. I asked him how he was liking this 'no chores' situation. He looked guilty, but admitted he really liked it. Can you blame him? What a great gig he had going on! I asked him how he thought his sibs might be liking it. "Not so much?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But would you like it if one of them were receiving all the benefits of having meals cooked for them and clothes folded for them and they didn't have to help with any of it?"

Again, that look of new awareness, as if he'd never heard it before, lit up his face.

He wandered off and then returned saying, "I've tried and tried, but I can't figure out what the blessing is in doing chores." He had made several guesses before that basically boiled down to enjoying quality time together and to feeling good about blessing someone else. Great things, but not the answer. I could tell he was sincerely trying to find the answer and I gave up and told him what the blessing in doing chores is. He really wanted to know.

#1, it is a blessing to be a part of contributing to your family's success. It is a blessing to help your family be their best, meet their goals and dreams.

#2, it is a form of worship. When we place those plates in the dishwasher with a happy heart, we are saying "Thank you Lord that I had food to eat today." There are many families who didn't. "Thank you Lord that I have a mama who loves me and cooks good meals for me." There are many kids alone today. When we fold those clothes with a cheerful heart, we are saying "Thank you Lord that I have clothes to wear." There are kids naked in the streets.

He looked utterly stunned. Again. He wandered off to think about this heavy stuff. I needed time to think about it myself. Honestly, the conversation was completely led by the Holy Spirit, because I can assure you, it was news to me. I'd had a vague idea where we were going with this experiment, but the whole thing changed my heart towards my home.

He came back out of his room ready to enjoy chores.

That night, as we were all sharing our "highs" and "lows", Joel announced that his "high" was that he "finally got it." He said his "low" was that it took him so long to get it.

It was a major, major relief. All of the headaches going wrong and the overwhelming feeling of oppression and failure evaporated with this one thing being fixed. I had felt like I was losing my little boy's heart. God reminded me of His timing and that He is in control. That's my "high".

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