Читать книгу Make My Life Simple - Rachel Balducci - Страница 8

practical peace, order within the home

Paperwork, cleaning the house, dealing with the innumerable visitors who come all through the day, answering the phone, keeping patience and acting intelligently, which is to find some meaning in all that happens — these things, too, are the works of peace.

— Dorothy Day, The Catholic Worker (December 1965)

An ordered life is one that gives each task the attention it deserves. This means that small tasks should get a small amount of our attention. When our lives feel out of order, we start to have an imbalance in where we put our energy. I have felt firsthand the stress that comes from the details of life being out of balance. Knowing what to cook for dinner shouldn’t be some epic achievement. But when you are running around like a crazy woman, it sometimes is.

Before we proceed, I want to stress something. In family life, it’s important to recognize that we go through seasons. “Season” is one of my favorite words. I use it a lot because I think it keeps so much in perspective. The mother with a newborn baby should not be striving for the kind of order that a mom of bigger kids might have. Mamas with newborns shouldn’t focus on anything other than survival. You give yourself time — six weeks, ten weeks, seven months — whatever it takes, until you start to feel some semblance of sanity and normalcy. And then, when you can peacefully begin to think “bigger picture” (beyond getting through this feeding session, the one that will end just in time for the next one to begin), it’s time to come up with a plan.

This concept of “season” can apply to all kinds of times. Christmas season. Basketball season. Flu season. The weeks of your oldest child starting school outside the home. These are all times of different kinds of stress, and it’s okay to say, in those seasons, that you are putting one foot in front of the other. Having four children playing on three separate teams might not be the time to be organizing all the closets. This is the time to get your children to the next practice and the next games.

But in the calmer moments, or your version of that, getting things in order, taking the time to get streamlined and to have a plan — this is what will help in the fast pace of family life. The abundant life! Isn’t life wonderful. Let’s proceed without feeling like we are always on the brink of drowning.

Practical peace is a focus on organization of our home and of our time. It takes effort and patience, but when we are willing to be honest with the state of things, and be willing to make changes, we will find the peace we crave. This isn’t about making a home that is perfect or a schedule that is foolproof, but about making an effort to cut out enough detritus so peace can reign. An organized schedule and an organized home will clear the clutter from our mind and spirit and help us better hear what God is saying to us, what he is asking of us.

Organization is part of having peace ahead of time. It’s like money in the bank or a pedicure before you realize you need to wear sandals.

But it doesn’t magically appear.

“Turn from evil and do good,” says 1 Peter 3:11, and “seek peace and follow after it.”

If we want peace, we have to pursue it. We can’t sit back and wait for life to feel peaceful. We must “turn from evil and do good.”

Now I’m not saying your disorganized coat closet is evil. But it’s not going to organize itself. We have to work hard to get peace and order, and it’s totally worth it.

If you want to be a person of peace, you need to be willing to make the changes you need to make in order to have more peace. Make adjustments, and go after peace. Pursue peace within your home and within yourself and with your fellow man. As Joyce Meyer says: Don’t just want peace; go after it.

So, what will it take to bring peace to your life? Stop for a moment and consider this. Maybe you want to make a list. What areas of your life are robbing you of your peace? Be honest with yourself. What is dragging you down? What zaps your energy and makes you want to curl up on the couch under a blanket?

Now say to yourself: “I am no longer willing to live without peace. I want peace. I will do what it takes to bring peace to my life.”

What will it take? Take a moment and answer this: “How can I find the order within my home and schedule — within my brain! — that I need to find true freedom and joy?”

Let’s break it down, and figure it out, and then let’s go after it!

But, before that, let’s get one thing straight. I’m not saying we won’t have hard times. I’m not suggesting that if we get all of our ducks in the right row it’s all going to be perfect. Pride tries to tell us that we won’t suffer. That perfection is the answer to everything. That’s not realistic. We aren’t going to pursue peace by pursuing perfection.

But there is something to be said for working hard. “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you,” said Saint Ignatius of Loyola. It’s not enough to look at the state of your home and complain that it’s a wreck. If you aren’t willing to pick a few things up, I can’t feel sorry for you (I’m talking to you, Rachel Balducci). God loves each one of us so very much, but he doesn’t generally come into the front room to gather up the toys and wipe down the baseboards.

He does, however, give us the gifts of wisdom and smart brains. We must use those two weapons to make our lives more peaceful. It’s a little bit practical, a little bit spiritual.