Just do the next thing!

Being a stay at home mom, I often get asked well.....what do you do?
At first I got defensive, now I just get amused!!!!
When I was a young mom with small children, I heard a life-saving message by Elisabeth Elliot, called "Just do the next thing".
Being at home with the children. I always had a list going. In fact I recently came across it in my journal....here is what it consisted of:
make beds
make breakfast
dishes
vac.
sweep
laundry...3-4 loads per day
dust, murphy oil all hardwood floors every other week
mop kitchen floor
start supper
make lunch
That was just my master plan.......
I also had quiet time and of course play days
Now that my children are older, I have been asked..."are you going back to teaching?"
Or, what are you going to do now?????? Well, I can honestly say my list of to-dos is actually longer than it was when the children were younger!
I still have my chauffeuring responsibilities plus, cooking, cleaning, dog care-taker, woman's ministry ,babysitting for my grandchildren and then oh yes......ME!!!! I am doing some things that I like to do now...like writing, and taking a couple classes at the YMCA.
When I was younger, I was really intense about having a clean house and wanting things to look good on the outside. It was hard to keep up on many days, and then I heard Elisabeth's teaching on just doing the next thing!
Elisabeth and her husband were missionaries ,serving in Ecquador.  When they on the mission field, her husband Jim Elliot was murdered by the very tribe they were trying to reach!!! This left Elisabeth and her newborn daughter in a hostile environment. While dealing with her grief, and coping as a young mom, she could barely continue at times....until she heard the Lord whisper to her..."just do the next thing" ! I was so moved and convicted by her story that I will never forget it! Whenever she felt overcome by her circumstances she would say "just do the next thing" and that helped her to get through!!!!
After trying in my own strength for so long to appear like I had it all together, the sixth child came along.....I couldn't do it all anymore!!!! But God is good! He told me (thru' a teacher I heard) "You can't . He never said you could. He can . He always said He would"! This simple saying helped give me freedom in trying, trying , trying to look like I had it all together! I started to get my insides cleaned up so I no longer had to try and make my outsides be perfect....and the more children I had the freer I became!!!
Recently though, when the children went back to school, I decided to start DEEP cleaning. As I tackled one project my eyes became open to the next, and the next and the next.....It's amazing how you can get used to clutter, or mess when you don't do anything about it!
As I was going through room to room and looking with fresh eyes at my home I could just hear Elisabeth's voice saying gently.."Just do the next thing". Not that I will ever get everything done (because then we would all have to leave so the house could enjoy it's clean "moment") but I have actually been eyeing up my pine wall and thinking of cleaning that...after all it has been twenty years!!!! Maybe tomorrow!!!!!!
Eccles. 11 says "Whatever your hand finds to do, do" and then just do the next thing!!!! God Bless You!