Taking out the trash (and other chores...)

Wednesday is trash day for us. All day Tuesday when I pass a trashcan I think "I have to take the trash out BEFORE its dark!" But inevitably, something else comes up. My five month old cries or needs a diaper, my four year old stubs her toe or my almost three year old brings me a treasure. Some amount of time later I pass the trashcan again and the same "I have to take the trash out BEFORE its dark!" Comes into my head. Well yesterday my husband got home and we are expanding our fenced in area for our horses and I ran right out the door to work on the fence, past the kitchen trash, and past the actual trashcan that goes out to the road. Didn't give the trash a second thought because I was so excited to work on something for my horses. One chore took over my thoughts of my other chore. While I was putting up fence, I wondered how my corned beef was doing in the pot. Because of course all I smelled all afternoon when I worried about taking out the trash and working on the fence was that corned beef! My mom came over with some wire cutters and sugar (because she is awesome and when I was making dinner I also made sweet tea and; yes; I ran out of sugar) and we went inside for dinner, past the trash cans without a second thought. Well we ate dinner, which was absolutely amazing, and my mom left after we watched a home fixer upper show. And it was dark. The kids were already asleep having missed dinner and our five month old was asleep in my lap. With seemingly all of my chores taken care o,f I was comfortable sitting on the sofa and watching "19 Kids and Counting". 

This morning I woke up, came downstairs with my babies and noticed that there sat the trash. Still not out by the road where it should be because my husband left for work while it was still dark out. So I made breakfast, fed the dogs and the cat, made sure the kids were happy and content with a "Veggie Tales" Easter movie, and I took the trash out. Finally. As soon as I leave the house with the tv noise and squealing and giggling, I shut the door and there is silence. It's quiet until a car drives by or the birds caw or chirp at each other or one of our horses yells at me from the barnyard. I grab the trashcan and drag it down the driveway to the road and come back for the recycling. Each time I come into my mare Elle's view she yells at me. Trash done I go take care of my horses. One chore takes up where one left off. Coming back into the house to hear giggling and the TV and cooing I know that there are three other chores waiting for me. These chores tell me I'm doing something right. I'm taking care of my family. I'm taking care of the animals God has entrusted to our care. I'm taking care of my own health both mentally and physically. Really I have five people to care for, my family and myself. 

In my list of chores I often forget to add prayer. I've beaten myself up for that. "Prayer should be at the top of that list!!" I say to myself. But some little nudge in the back of my mind says- your life is a prayer. Taking care of what is given to us is a prayer of thanksgiving. Teaching my kids about God's love in how I treat them is probably one of my most important chores! So do your chores. But do them to glorify God and to thank Him. Make your whole life a prayer!