This has been one of the fastest winters - who says that? Winter is always slow, but I think it is because somehow we have stayed busy and it isn't because I get any credit for creative ideas or anything like that. It is simply God's grace as I cry out day after day for help - help in keeping the younger ones busy, help in somehow getting them to buy into going outside, even when they don't want to, help in keeping them busy when it was too cold to go outside, help in finding ways to have them get along, when they are the only ones they see all day every day!
There are days when I wasn't sure how things were going to go, but then they get these crazy ideas that come out of nowhere. One day the two younger boys spent hours making a fort near the pig barn so that I couldn't find them! That was a stinky place to play, but ok! Then, after Christmas, they discovered the joys of board games. I am not a huge board game person, never was, but I wasn't about to let them know how I felt, so I just encouraged it. We bought a couple and they literally played for hours, day after day, until they got bored of the board games! Then, the snow came - how I love a good snowfall. Big enough to make huge drifts where they dug tunnels and made "homes" with "backyards", trails and everything. They would literally play for hours out there, too. Another time the snow turned to ice and it made for a treacherous and scary sledding hill beside our house. Again, even though it was so cold, out they went and had so much fun avoiding dangerous buildings! After that it was a trip to the local thrift store. They happened upon some building toys, K'nex, which are not cheap brand new, but they had a whole bin for a great price, so I bought that and it kept them busy also for days. We also picked up another board game there and they played that, too, for days. These little things are such blessings to me. Winter can be hard and it is so easy to go to the TV, computer or phone to keep them quiet, but I have really tried to avoid that in the name of Numbers 33:50-55, a passage I read this week which made me realize God was working all winter, even when I didn't see Him or recognize it was His hand. This passage has become the theme of Lent around here and looking back over the winter which is nearly over, I thank God for how I now see how this passage was being worked out in a real and practical way. All winter He revealed creative ways to keep the boys, in particular, busy and productive and I think it was entirely His doing to help me drive back the winter blues, among other things. Here's the passage:
50 And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 51 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. 53 And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. 54 You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. 55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.
I talked about these verses with the kids the other day. It came down to the 3 Ds - Drive out the inhabitants of the land. Destroy all their figured stones metal images. Demolish all their high places.
This was the challenge in our home all winter, and still is, and probably always will be- figuring out what we need to drive out, destroy and demolish. What is in our home, what habits, what things are distracting us from doing the better thing or even slipping into hopelessness? During the winter lockdown, it was clearly a battle - God was longing to bless us. We just had to do what He asked. So all winter long, even though I hadn't read this passage until the end of winter, I see now how He was showing me and the kids ways to help us "take possession of the land and settle in it". He was giving us amazing ideas, gifts, and creativity that helped us drive out, destroy and demolish, though not entirely, the depression and boredom that always tried to creep in. When we succumbed to the bad habits, the easy things to do, TV, cell phones, computers, using them in unproductive ways, then they became just what the Bible described them as, "as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell". We are not against computers and phones - as long as they are tools for learning as much as possible. I think it is interesting that the Bible uses the expression "barbs in your eyes" as too much of the social media or anything computer related really will do just that, it'll be like a barb in your eye literally, as so much of what is on the internet is so bad! It can harm you emotionally, spiritually, and even physically if too much goes on and all because it comes in through our eyes!
The 3Ds are all very strong commands. There is nothing passive about these phrases. It also implies how we must take action and not hope it'll happen. Now, having the winter nearly over, we read these phrases together and talked about these things, I always think, "They get it!" But then I turn around and I catch one of them having fun with "the inhabitants of the land". I said to them, "Uh, remember how we have to 'drive out, destroy and demolish' these habits?" "Oh yeah." They quickly forget. The battle is real. It is so easy to go back to old patterns.
Like I said, I didn't read this passage at the beginning of the winter, but at the end of the winter. Yet, as I said, I can look back and be so grateful for how God was helping me fight "the inhabitants of the land" all winter long. If left to themselves, kids succumb to the law of thermodynamics which states, and I'm quoting my sciencey husband here: "if left on their own, things go to the highest degree of disorder". Even though my kids know better, it is just easy to not do what they are supposed to do. They all know it's bad to be lazy. They know ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner is bad, but if I'm not guiding and point them in the right direction all day long, they would literally sleep in till noon, watch TV and eat candy every second of the day. Each day of winter I wondered, "How will I keep them busy and happy?" No one was coming over, school was dragging on, depression was always being kept at bay and sometimes made its way in the house....I prayed and prayed....yet I find myself on the precipice of Spring and somehow we made it! I didn't realize how God was helping me over and over. He gave creative ideas not just to me, but to the kids themselves. He gave gifts of weather and the occasional barn visit. He provided inexpensive toys and games that kept everyone distracted. I look back and see He was helping me all along drive out, demolish and destroy not just bad habits, but He was helping me fight back depression and caving into dread. This only comes with reflection. That is in fact the power of reflection.
We have one more hilarious event to help us get through the winter tomorrow. I don't know where this idea came from, but it has to be one of the best yet, and once again, I thank God for these very funny ideas. We're having a cat birthday party tomorrow, for our dumb cat. She's not that dumb actually - kind of cute to be honest. She was born on leap year last year and was the runt. We didn't think she would make it, but she pulled through. The kids begged to keep her. How could we say no? Now, because we are sooooo bored, we decided we had to come up with a way to celebrate and pass the time, so we are having a cat party, complete with cat games (pin the tail on the cat), cat art (rolling a cat on plastic covered in catnip with blank paper full of paint underneath it), cat cookies, cat cake (canned cat food/triple layer with a candle), balloons, oh, and the most important part - cat guests (all our other outdoor cats are invited for cake). It is going to be the best day ever!d
So, as always, I'm grateful. I think we made it through winter and not just a regular winter, but winter LOCKDOWN and we are relatively unscathed. I feel like we drove out the inhabitants of the land that wanted to fight back and not move. We will hopefully with God's grace move into the next season of Spring and inherit the land God longs to give us.
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