By Ashlie Miller
Recently, dear friends allowed me and my youngest two children to use their place at the beach for several days. It was to be a refresher for us, while my husband was on a mission trip with two of our teenage children. It can be difficult for little ones when a parent is away for several days. Tears can flow when they begin to miss Daddy. A good distraction is always a welcome thing, and can anything be more welcome than a trip to the beach?
Though it was only three of us, it looked as if we had packed for 7! Back seats down, the trunk of the Odyssey was filled with floats, crafts, games, books, and our luggage. Usually, we have to be very minimalistic in our packing. Not this time! I had a crafty little plan to take advantage of the days there with field trips and what we call “funschooling.” Little did they know, the crafts we would make, the books on the ocean and sea shells we would read, the stories we would hear, the podcasts on nature we would tune into would all help us begin our homeschool year.
It worked like a charm! Instead of loathing the activities and the learning, the children actually asked to stay inside most days during that especially hot, humid, and often stormy last week of July at Holden Beach. We opted to enjoy the sand and surf in the evenings.
Embracing school days, though cloaked in the guise of fun, was not the only difference I took note of during our stay. I notice that when we stay at someone else’s home, cleaning seems like less of a chore and more like a gift. At home, completing the same tasks that week would feel laborious and tedious, with no end in sight. Then, there is rage-cleaning, which you may have heard about – the cleaning many moms (and dads) do when they are sick and tired of the mess, making sure everyone hears about it as they clean. “I have to do EVERYTHING around here. I guess no one else can see this?! I suppose it must be nice to rest and relax while watching me work.” (Anyone ever guilty of this one? I’m a recovering rage-cleaner.)
Although no cleaning list was posted or expected as part of the gift of staying at a friend’s place, the desire to express gratitude through an act of service was tangible and longed to be expressed. The children picked up sticks fallen from storms in the backyard while I swept, mopped, and even dusted. As the children realized the great gift given, they, too, asked how they could help. When cleaning and chores are an expression of gratitude rather than a list of expectations, the heart and energy that goes into them are different. One may argue that the cleaning is more thorough when done from a place of gratitude.
That provoked me to think, “What would happen if I carried that same gratitude to my home?” Thanking God for the many dirty dishes means that many good meals are enjoyed at the family table. Conquering Mount Never-rest (my name for our laundry pile) means we were busy working, playing, or doing, and have plenty to change into. Helping pick up toys implies that someone has been making memories rather than being sucked into entertainment onscreen. More than a temporary place at the beach, the Heavenly Father has blessed and entrusted me with an earthly dwelling. Surely, there are more profound lessons than that, but for now, I’ll try to be more expressively grateful and less complaining when I clean. (And, no, let’s be honest. The children didn’t bring that same lesson home with them from the beach.)
