Our Grass Wasn’t the Greenest, Our House Wasn’t the Cleanest

      It was a pretty normal summer Sunday afternoon for the us.  As the van (lovingly called the Flash not because of its speed but because of the one red stripe on the side) drove up to our house I could see the neighbors outside working on their yards.  Seemingly every Sunday was yard day in our area with people out cutting grass, planting flowers, or fertilizing.  We pulled into the garage after church and then sat down for lunch. 

     After lunch the work would begin.  Mom would clean the house and do the dishes, and the guys would go out to mow the lawn.  My brother and I would take the two push mowers and get around the house and in amongst the trees, while my dad rode the tractor and got the majority of the yard. 

When I was there it all seemed normal and I didn’t really think any more about it.  But as I look back I realize there are a few things that I am extremely thankful to my parents for modeling. 

First, I see now that my dad was intentional with his priorities.  Church and the fellowship with God we experienced there were number one.  Our grass wasn’t the greenest and our house wasn’t the cleanest because my parents wanted God to come first. 

     Second, being a part of a community is important.  We didn’t have to mow the lawn on Sunday; we could have done it a different day.  But to my dad it must have been important to be out when our neighbors were.  Even though there wasn’t much talking going on there is a bond that forms when you are out working at the same time.

     And third, both my parents took advantage of the time they had while they worked.  During his ride my dad worked on memorizing James.  His ear phones would be as loud as they could so that he could hear.  And while my mom was inside she would be praising God along with a Point of Grace CD blasting in the living room. 

     Chuck’s sermon on Sunday helped me to realize that having the right priorities was modeled to me from a young age.  Learning from Christ came first, and then even when they were doing the good things that needed to be done, my parents were intentional with their focus, and that focus was on God. 

     As I move forward with my life and family it is a great to have parents who tried to teach me Godly values.  However I also realize how hard it is not to get caught up in the “good” things like Martha did.  We have a loving God who wants to teach us and too often I find myself distracted by things of this world instead of having a eternal perspective. 

Stress is a strange thing; at least I have found it to be.  While I am in the midst of a stressful time I find myself complaining, wishing that I could just slow down like we talked about on Sunday.  But soon after things start to slow down I feel the need to throw myself back in to the middle again. 

Dear God please help me to slow down and always make you my first priority. 

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Josh Earhart

About the Author:
Josh serves on staff at Westchester as Associate Pastor of Student Ministries