A Day of Rest

Our family has literally been running since Thanksgiving. We have gone from Maryland and back and then to Virginia and back. We have visited Carl's parents, my sister, my parents, and numerous families from church. With a nursing infant I don't get too much uninterupted sleep to begin with. Tirzah likes to sleep snuggled up right next to me which is great for her but bad for my back. While at church today Esther got a headache. She came home and I gave her some medicine. She went and took a nap. Caleb took his regular afternoon nap. I had every intention of working in the garage to get it back to where Carl can put his car in. I went upstairs to change from my church clothes into more comfortable clothes. I guess they were too comfortable because I laid down on the bed for just a moment. The next thing I knew I woke up two hours later. My wonderful husband had taken Tirzah and "convinced" her to take a nap on the couch with him. I heard nothing from the kids or Carl. I guess my body needed to rest. Once I got up we had a leisurly dinner of leftovers or whatever the kids wanted to fix (within reason - Esther wanted me to make pancakes - I said NO). We watched the old version of Cheaper by the Dozen (a very appropriate movie for our family). My house is not going to implode just because it is a mess this evening. It is okay to rest once in a while. I know why the Lord put a day of rest in place. Sometimes as mother's though it seems like on those days of rest that we are the busiest. I have to find church shoes for eight kids. Make sure everything is ironed. Make sure the van is packed with the diaper bag. Make sure the bible bag is stocked with things to keep little ones occupied during church (we have no church nursery). I also have to prepare a meal for after church as we have a pot luck dinner after church every Sunday. I need to pack play clothes for some of the kids who want to change after church. I also need to get myself ready and nurse Tirzah. This is all before 9:00 when we have to leave for church. Oh, did I mention I need to feed everyone breakfast too. It is just the normal Sunday things a mom needs to do. I like to be productive when we get home because Carl and I don't have much time during the week to get things done. Sometimes though the Lord knows what we need even when we don't. He knew that today I needed an extra two hours of sleep. He is such a wonderful God to give us not what we want, but what we need. Oh what a wonderful Savior is he.