Clarity

Here's a little story I typed up today in Grandpa Jepson's history:

"At first, our house did not have a bathroom or electricity or running water. Papa had to haul water to our home from the neighbors’ house two blocks away. To do this, Papa put a large wooden barrel on a homemade wooden sled that was pulled by a horse. Once, some close relatives were visiting when Papa had just finished getting water, and their daughter spit into our water barrel. Papa was so angry because he had to dump the whole thing out and go back for fresh water."

Uh--?! Excuse me?! I can't believe that story didn't end with someone punching her in the face or putting her head in the town guillotine or something. I definitely would have had some strong words to say, at the very least (but I've always wanted to punch someone in the face and that seems like a completely appropriate time for punching). All that work to have water! And to think, I get annoyed that it takes my kitchen faucet awhile to heat up.

Seriously, though, we're a spoiled generation as far as standards of living go. Here's another snippet I scribed:

"It was so nice and warm upstairs but certainly not downstairs. It was so cold in our bedroom that we hated to go to bed and often stayed up late. Once in bed, I could hardly sleep because I was so cold. I would lay and suffer most of the night trying to get warm. Then in the morning it was so hard to get out of our finally warm beds."

:(

However, I do think the 21st century claims its own difficulties for parents trying to raise healthy, happy, righteous children. Contemplate this next excerpt for a second:

"In the summertime, we would get our work done and then play ball or go down by the ditch bank or to the watermelon patch. There were lots of things to keep us occupied."

Isn't that divine?? If only the many things that "keep us occupied" today were so simple. Our responsibilities and activities stretch us so many directions that it's difficult to retain or regain The Important.

I feel like this post is kind of all over the place, ironically, but I'm just trying to say that no matter when or where you raise your children, trials will be there, but we can overcome. Being ever-grateful to God and ever-faithful to His will is what matters. Taking care of our children's physical, spiritual, and emotional needs is what matters.

This song played on my Pandora station while I wrote tonight. It's fabulous, if you want to check it out here.

Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know the hardest part is over?
Let it in, let your clarity define you
In the end we will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made in these small hours
These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate
Time falls away but these small hours
These small hours still remain