Busy Hands

I just want to record this:

Right now, as I sit here typing, my kids are busily cleaning up the kitchen.
And its a happy sound.

I do not hear the beeps, buzzes and incessantly pulsating music of their handheld electronic games. Instead I hear water running and feet scampering back and forth, and happy conversations. . . also the occasional clinking of a dish or two.

How did we -as parents - finally figure out how to harness that childish energy and channel into a force for good, you may ask?

And when will our picture be appearing on the cover of "Parenting" magazines across the nation?

Actually I don't know the answer.

And I don't why my kids were suddenly "smart" (that's what my Mom used to call it when I would suddenly become a thrifty worker).

But, I like it.

Maybe it's because they are on Spring Break this week.

One night Ab decided she wanted to help in the kitchen and she got on a roll (not literally, I think we had toast that night) and did a thorough job of cleaning.

Maybe it was because they had a good bit of free time this week - time that wasn't packed tightly with activity - flitting about from destination to destination.

Maybe it was just the general attitude of Spring's new start that caused them to take on the challenge of doing some cleaning themselves.

Maybe they made the connection between my lectures about the intrinsic value of hard work and reality. Perhaps the light finally came on as they realized that there really is a strong sense of self-worth that accompanies a job well done.

Or maybe it is because that Ab got to avoid taking a bath the other night because she spent so much time cleaning up the kitchen...

Or perhaps it is because we are planning to go to Walmart this morning so that Ab can spend some of her savings on a major purchase and we couldn't leave until the kitchen was clean...

Woe! There is a major lesson there about how people acting in their own self-interest will often-times accomplish much good for themselves and for those around them - even if it is not done for all the right reasons.

That is something akin to what economist, Adam Smith referred to as "the invisible hand".

And if God is glorified when we are happily working to bless others - then maybe Brother Lawrence had something there when he talked about experiencing God's tranquility while in the "noise and clatter" of his busy kitchen.

We've got to teach them this stuff at home... it is not prevalent in our society.

Lord, teach us to teach them!


"Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith
"Practice the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence