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| A Recent view of the lake, near our home in Vermont. |
It takes a great deal of effort to travel away from home. I want the house in order, the laundry finished, and some baking to be accomplished. We pack many things to take along with us to save money. Somehow, as I secure a few last things into my suitcase, along with my Bible and hymn book, I think about a way to bring a bit of home with us.
Just before I leave, I make sure my bed is made, and the dishes are washed. I want to be a good housekeeper even when I am not here.
Our recent journey to a nearby state was for medical reasons. The drive seemed to take longer than usual. Many of the highways are under construction. There was a detour that took us far out of our way. The road was being repaired, causing our exit to be closed. We were directed to take the next exit. I assumed there would be signs to guide us back on track. This was not the case.
It soon became evident I needed to stop at the roadside and get out the map. I carefully found the correct route to guide us back in the right direction. The trip was tiring and difficult, but we enjoyed the scenery and made light of the situation. We had to stop for cold drinks and refreshments. This kept up our spirits as we continued to drive longer than we had planned. Eventually we arrived at our hotel and were so grateful for a time of rest!
The next morning, I realized I had been careless with some of my clothing. I needed to iron my sweater. I am so thankful there are housekeeping tools in every hotel room. I knew just where the iron and ironing board would be and quietly set them up for use.
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| Getting ready to iron at the hotel. |
We headed off to see a medical specialist. Our patient's symptoms had been very unpleasant and painful. He received excellent care as he continues to recover from this setback. He is back on track to continue his regular treatments in a few weeks. I will begin planning and saving up for this next trip to the hospital. We are getting used to this being a part of our regular lives.
When we arrived home, I had much to do to catch up on housework. I had some gardening and cooking that needed to be done. I made a batch of challah bread and a cake for the weekend. I looked forward to attending church and tried to rest up for the service. However, I never made it to the end of the sermon. I felt weary and wobbly. I thought I was going to faint. I hated to be rude and leave suddenly, but my health was not well enough to remain in the pew. After this, I had to rest for a couple of days, as I was mostly bedridden. It could have been exhaustion or simply a virus I was dealing with. I am feeling much better today and happy to be back to keeping house and taking care of the family.
It is restful and peaceful to just stay home. But there are many things that keep calling me away. The basic errands are necessary even though all the driving wears me out. I have to pace myself and rest and fight off the unpleasant feeling of being "lazy" so I can keep up my strength for these ongoing medical trips. And while it is always a struggle to come up with enough money for these expenses, these trips are such a blessing. It is wonderful to know our patient is under excellent care at the hospital.
I will enjoy every moment of being home. When I have to be away, I will take the spirit of homemaking with me. It is in my heart. This is what makes the calling away from the old homeplace a joyful act of service. The best part of all is knowing that when the work is over, we get to go home.
Blessings
Mrs. White
From the Archives -
Old Time Manners - Waiting for the Door to Be Opened.
Finding Genuine Happiness at Home - Peace be Upon This House.
Overcoming Worries and Troubles - Reviving the Prayer Journal.
- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -
Help for hard times at home -
House Keeping in Hard Times: Essays and Encouragement from a Christian Housewife
Paperback, 180 pages
"When the work is over, we get to go home." How I love the implications of this sentence, Mrs. White! Yes, when our work here on earth is done, we can look forward to going home to Jesus, with Whom we will find peace and eternal rest. Blessings to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteFor some reason it does seem like as we get older traveling is more of a hassle. I'm a real homebody too. And even if I am gone for just a day it's always good to be back. We have zero traffic where we live, so when we go to a big city like Fargo for medical appointments we are overwhelmed by the traffic and crowds everywhere. My husband and I have not been to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for many years. It's scary down there! So sorry to hear you were not feeling well, but glad you are better now.
ReplyDeleteYou handled the situation perfectly! Getting detoured and finding your way back took a moment, but you persevered. This is life, finding our way back. Like you I love to be at home, it brings me peace. Trips to town are sometimes a necessity and I have found that have particular routes that are less stressful.
ReplyDeleteI too have been taking breaks to rest while doing my work at home. It is only through prayer that I let go of thinking I am lazy.
May you be blessed with strength that you need and may your patient experience recovery.
I hope you are feeling better, and that your son gets healed. I am the same way, for some reason, I do not want to leave a messy house when I travel. And I don't want to come home to a dirty house; as I will be busy enough doing laundry from the trip. (Plus I hate traveling too and pack everything we need for the trip, including food to eat on the road). So preparing to travel is a lot of work because besides packing, I am cleaning my house. andrea
ReplyDeleteI’m like you, I have to have things in order before I go away. I like something in the freezer ready to pop in the oven, house nice and orderly to return to. I sometimes think I end up exhausted before I even leave, lol, but when I return, the feeling is such a relief to have nothing to do but recover. My auto-immune means I will be exhausted and flaring when I return, so being prepared really helps. Glad your patient is feeling a bit better:).
ReplyDeleteI so resonated with this as I hate leaving anything undone when we have to travel somewhere. Praying for the health of you and your son and famiy. Safety in your travels. Your post and advice is simple yet profound.
ReplyDeleteMay the Lord continue to provide for all your needs, and provide also for times of rest and recovery, as it is very clear that you need them. I am praying, dear one. xx
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