yes, you're thinking, "they just barely moved!" you're right, in fact, I just finished unpacking and feel that my house and daily routine is somewhat organized which is record for me because this usually takes three or more months for me to accomplish after a move.
from my understanding the children of Israel moved 42 times in about as many years before they reached their promised land.
It must be in the blood...either that or I still have some serious lessons to learn! !)
Last night I taught my lesson about home organization...(see previous post). My teaching partner couldn't make it so I taught alone.
What I imagined myself presenting (a step by step guide to a perfectly orderly and organized home) and what my research dictated as a curriculum were very, very different. In fact, I wonder if the class still should have been called "home organization" at all; however, I feel like I taught what was supposed to be said, and more importantly what I needed to learn. Here are some of the main points:
Organization is a lifestyle, not an event.
Organization does not equal PERFECTION.
Perfection paralyzes me. If I imagine that I can't do a job perfectly from the beginning, I either don't do it, or I seriously procrastinate the project.
The savior was a perfect man. Why? Because he didn't observe his own "idea" of perfection; his only desire was to do the will of the Father; "an eye single to the glory of God"--in every situation. I had to ask myself, "is my vision of 'a house of order' the same as Heavenly Father's vision of my 'house of order?' In asking this question I first only found more questions...
Do I see the daily of work in the home as "a necessary evil" that gets in the way of "important" family activities and should be done as quickly and with as little effort as possible to get on with real living?
or
Am I motivated to have a clean house, clean clothes, mowed lawn, shining windows, clean dishes and weeded flowerbeds, (etc.) by a sense of duty, pride, efficiency or daily accomplishment?
OR
Do I see the work in the home as an opportunity rather than a burden and understand the sacred meaning of everyday activities as a stewardship from God where I discover sacred (and often hidden) times and places where healthy, enduring family relationships are created? (These questions and the above story were adapted from Shirley R. Klein, and E. Jeffrey Hill, "Creating Home as a Sacred Center", Brigham Young University)
I have to admit, until recently I saw the work in the home as a burden and imagined the perfect day at home one in which I had no responsibilities to fill--like a vacation, like life in the garden of Eden...
"However, back to Eden is not onward to Zion. Adam and Eve entered mortality to do what they could not do in the Garden: to gain salvation by bringing forth, sustaining, and nourishing life. As they worked together in this stewardship, with an eye single to the glory of God, a deep and caring relationship would grow out of their shared daily experience." --Kathleen Slaugh Bahr, Family Work, BYU Magazine, Spring 2000. (Thanks so much Toni for this amazing article.)http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=151 ...and is this not the point of mortality? to gain salvation and to develop deep and caring relationships?
For a couple of weeks, I searched and searched and searched online for the perfect recipe for home organization that went along with the gospel themes of family work….and here is what I learned:
“The eternal principles that govern family work will be uncovered by each of us according to our personal time line of discovery.”
--Kathleen Slaugh Bahr, Family Work, BYU Magazine, Spring 2000.
There is no recipe for home organization!!It’s a personal thing and something that has to be discovered by you!
"In the latter days there will be a people so pure...that God will manifest himself, not only in their temple...but when they retire to their [homes], behold each [home] will be lighted up by the glory of God, a pillar of flaming fire by night." -Orson Pratt, Journal of discourses, 16, 36.
There is NO possible way that I could have told that class everything that I have gained and learned from preparing to teach it. I did tell them that I have gained a deep and stirring testimony of the sacred nature of family (read: household) work and organization--that it is not an obligation but a privilege and quite possibly a literal means to salvation!
Today was a WONDERFUL day! Kaleb helped me sweep the floor and Keagan followed us with the mop. We washed the windows and cleared and wiped the table. Keagan sorted the silverware while I unloaded the dishwasher. We played the "monster vacuum" game, and while Kaleb loaded the dryer, Keagan loaded the washer. I was never rushed. Never once did I feel guilty telling the boys that I couldn't come to them because "I was busy." I didn't have to, we were busy together, side by side, and it was LIBERATING, FUN and FULFILLING!
"Until we feel about family work the way we want our children to feel about it, we will teach them nothing. If we dislike this work, they will know it. If we do not really consider it our work, they will know it. If we wish to hurry and get it out of the way or if we wish we were doing it alone so it could better meet our standards, they will know it. [...] If we wish to change our family habits on this matter, we must first change our own minds and hearts."
...and so that is what my class was about. I felt like I could never possibly find enough ideas and specific suggestions about home organization to meet the needs of 20 different women in 20 different stages of life with 20 different sizes of families. I just hope they walked away with 1 new fresh perspective about it.
