Love Fridays...a ramble

Sometimes I love Fridays because it's the end of the week and sometimes I love Friday because it's the beginning of the weekend. This week it is both...

This was a full week. J. was away and I missed him terribly, horrendously. And not just because he is useful to have around. Although there were a few times I cried out for his usefulness. Like when I was late for work because I had to drop off the littles at grandma's myself, when a ginormous truck backed into my passenger side door in the mall parking lot, and when we managed to get locked out and everyone who hadn't misplaced their copy of our house key was in Georgia. He thinks I am really independent and I am...but I really need him.

Last night he was making dinner for the kids while I am sitting at the table and we are catching up on his week. He tells me how easy it would have been for him to pick up a Georgia drawl. And I realize that he is talking at about the quarter of the pace we normally talk at. Too late- he may have left the accent behind but he... is ...pausing....between...words... This should be interesting! Because the truth is that I usually talk circles around him and he generally just waits until I tell him it is his turn to say something before attempting to get a word in. Our timing is going to be way off!

And then I kiss him bye and head out the door to catch up with a friend and regain some of the sanity I lost while being the only adult in our house for 4 days.

Honestly we have had about an hour together this week. We are all juggling a lot right now and desperate for summer when the pace of life will change for us. But lately even though our time is short together, it's been really good quality. We are carving out small moments that keep us connected and speak love to each other. We have figured out how to stay connected through the day via text. I have figured out how to say "Go away. I am talking to Daddy" with much love and compassion. He has figured out how to listen to me...even if this is the 17th time we have had the same conversation and I just need to talk it through one more time. And we are figuring out how to navigate landmines like that the house refuses to stay clean and that the children outnumber us and move so quickly that we often lose count.

Some people wonder about the pace of life we are living at. There are some changes we are going to make but they aren't about cutting out the things you might think. Our weekend is full-yes. There is a zumba fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House, a date with my girls, worship at RLFx4, a late dinner with friends, and LifeGroup. All of those things involve relationships, pouring into the people in our circle of influence,  and hopefully making an impact on somebody's spiritual journey.

It's busy but it isn't busyness.

A few weeks ago someone said that just because they were busy didn't mean they didn't love me. It took me a while to wrap my mind around that. And it became a barometer.

Because the truth is that being too busy for something doesn't mean you don't love it, it means it's not a priority. And it is a good challenge...I know that people are the most important thing to God. I know He has called us to live in community, to bear each other's burdens, to encourage, to teach and learn from each other.  And I don't want those to just be words- I want to do that for my husband, my kids, my friends, my community.

So busy but not busyness.