Real Life!

By J. Nenadov

We had a friend over for dinner last week. When he came, there was flour all over the kitchen floor, dirty dishes in the sink, and toys spread from one end of the house to the other. Dinner wasn’t ready and Mark [my husband] was tied up with a problem at work.

Rather than stressing out, though, I decided that I needed to embrace that this is our real life right now and that God has given it to us to steward well. So, when our friend came into the house, the first thing I said was: “Welcome to Real Life!” He looked a little confused at first, but quickly took Ashley from us and made himself right at home.

As Mark and I have talked about it, one of the things he has reminded me of is that sometimes a less than perfect home can be more comfortable than a perfect one. He’s right, I think. Our homes should reflect our lives and the people that live in them. While we probably all want to project our perfection through our surroundings (who doesn’t want to be known as the person who’s on top of things, who can manage their home with a flick of the wrist, and have everyone admire them for that?), the reality is something different.

Am I concerned with a clean house, good food, well-behaved family because I’m concerned about the comforts of others or because my pride wants to be built up by people being impressed by me? Sadly, too often it’s the second motivation.

So, this past week, I’ve been repeating the phrase: “this is real life, this is real life,” to myself. It’s silly, but it’s been enough of a reminder to me that I don’t resent the interruptions, the unpredictability of daily life. I can enjoy what’s happening rather than worrying about the next thing on my list. It’s given me the freedom to live.

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