The Circus House

Sometimes my house is a circus. There are days when it physically looks like a circus because there are baseballs flying past my face, dogs barking at who knows what, and not a foot of space on the floor that is not covered with some sort of toy, child, or large animal. Other days my house and my life feel like a circus. I feel like I am on a unicycle juggling 6 balls and if one ball slips I will come crashing down. These are the days when everything seems to be going wrong and meeting all of my loved ones needs just doesn’t seem possible. On these days I sometimes think to myself “Hey girl, get with it, there are far worse things that could be happening to me right now, if I can’t handle this situation then how can I handle other more serious situations”?  Then I open my Bible and am reminded that I am ready for more serious situations if they arise. I am ready for anything because my house is built on a rock and not on sand. Do you know where I am going with this yet?

Matthew 7:24 says “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock”. In this verse Jesus is ending his famous sermon on the mount by saying that it is not only important to study God’s word but it is also important to do what it says. In other words, if we want ourselves and our families to have a solid foundation we have to study and practice God’s word every single day. Jesus says that if we are not obedient to God’s word then we will be knocked down by any storm of life that hits us. “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7: 26-27).

Being obedient and putting God’s word into practice does not just mean following the 10 commandments. It means studying the whole Bible so that we know how God wants us to live our lives. It means making God our number one priority and putting into practice what we learn. When we do this, we become a new person. Our thoughts, our behaviors, and even our feelings change. The way we react to stressful and painful situations will be different and that is why Jesus tells us that we will be able to withstand any storm. If we read the bible, do a devotional, listen to a sermon and then walk away feeling and acting exactly the same way…then we are like that foolish person living in a house on sand. Jesus's brother James describes this beautifully by saying “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:22-24). I don’t want to walk away from the mirror unchanged.

As a mother, it is extremely important for me to be obedient and act on God’s word. How I act when my house is a circus is a reflection of my walk with God. I want my children to be able to learn about God through my actions. Teaching my 20 month old child about God by reading him the Bible is not even a real option right now. The other day my 20 month old was flipping through the pages of my bible so I asked him if he wanted me to read it to him. He said yes, so just for grins I began reading out of Genesis and within 30 seconds he was wondering over to the other side of the room to get his baseball. My only way to teach him right now is through my actions by being obedient to God and acting on what God tells me to do. When the storm clouds start rolling in and my house turns into a circus I want my house on a rock, not sand. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us a blueprint for how to live our lives. Thank you for meeting our needs when we need them and for blessing us. Give us the wisdom, resources, and teachers that we need to better learn about you and know how to put your word into action. Amen.