My hands are full these days, and so I have not recorded much lately. But I had time to write a quick note to a friend the other day in response to reading a story that she had posted.
"Ann,
Beautiful.
I give thanks for your family,
.......your quiet witness that teaches me so much. So very much.
It is a privilage to peek in on how grace works in the everyday in your home .
May the Lord bless you and bless each of your children and your children's children. And Opa Voskamp.
Grace to you,
Leslie
P.S.***After a hard week at work, my husband said the other night, "Read me some Ann." I had quite a day myself so I said, "Not tonight. I'm jealous of her right now. How does she homeschool all the children, put up applesauce, bake bread, read literature while the children quietly knit, and pray everytime her watch chimes..and post the most inspiring Holy Experience? I can't even get the laundry folded, etc..." You get the idea. I was half joking and half speaking the truth. He kindly replied,"Her children are older than ours. They can feed and dress themselves. They can go to the bathroom without needing help. This season of motherhood is ....." On he explained.
So I felt a little better.
We read some "Ann" and the Lord spoke to me. He always does when I read your words.
Later that night,as I was putting away the laundry, I remembered outloud, "You know one of her kids is still too little to ride a bicycle." He laughed, pulled me close and carried me to bed.
"You'll feel better in the morning." And I did. But I confess...I wish that I knew and loved the Lord like you do.
Ann wrote back. Good words. Words I needed to hear.
Leslie...
Can I grab you and give you a hug too??!!! :)
Yes. Your husband is entirely right. Caleb (14) folds *all* of our laundry. (I wash, dry, and put away --but I would be LOST without Caleb.)Joshua (12) washes *all* our pots and pans. Every meal.Hope (10) vacuums after every meal. The three youngers (8, 6, 4) clean off the table, dry dishes, take out the compost. When we clean the house, there are four very diligent workers... I don't do any of my work alone, Leslie... well... except the cooking -- for better or worse, that's all me :)
My sister has 4 beautiful little girls, aged 1-6. I remember that season: diapers and potties and no one big enough to tie their shoes or zip up their coat. We talk nearly everyday on the phone --- the season of all littles is challenging and I empathize. I deeply miss it -- and *ache* for it. I whisper for her to revel in it, even when she's so tired she can hardly move. In a blink, it's gone.
Dear Leslie... please know: when I bake bread, it's with a mixer, and one of the children will help me put together all the ingredients.My applesauce came already processed in large pails from the Mennonites for $8 a pail. Our 12 and 14 are homeschooled with Veritas Scholars Academy -- I'm no longer their primary teacher, but focus on the littles. Our children bicker. I yell. We cry. Sometimes I write about these things. I take photos even when my toilets need scrubbing. I will write in the dark, way too late, long after children are in bed, even if there is more laundry to put away. Because seeking glimpses of the God-glory in my daily mess is important for my soul to *see*. My Farmer Husband nudges me to go write because in the words, I see things I miss when I don't slow down and chronicle -- I miss *God*. Please know I'm in the trenches with you... a few years ahead, maybe, but in the trenches too. Days I am tired and discouraged and I blew it again, sinned, missed praying the last two hours, and things rather fizzled. And I look at the photos and see beauty I missed when I was feeling all frazzled, see all the graces jotted down on a journal... on a counter that needs to be cleaned off. :) Here is holy because God is here. Even here. Right now there are pumpkin parts and innards all over my kitchen floor. Best go. But I really needed, even in the midst, to grab you, smile, laugh, and say: "Yep! These are all seasons. And these seasons are all beauty because God is here too. Always." You've married a very fine man.*You* are a blessed woman, Leslie. ~warm smile~
Humbly... lovingly... gratefully....
All's grace...
Ann
All that happens becomes bread to nourish, soap to cleanse, fire to purify, a chisel to carve heavenly features. Everything is a channel of His Grace.
Lord, thank you for this season, for this family to love, for this home to share our lives in, for the encouragement You send...just when I need it.
My hands are full these days, and so I have not recorded much lately. But I had time to write a quick note to a friend the other day in response to reading a story that she had posted.
Ann wrote back. Good words. Words I needed to hear.
