Discovering God's Way to Raise a Home Part 2

Just then her kids, Steve and Margaret burst through the door letting the cold air in. Excited and lively, they both began talking at once filling their mother in on their day at Faith Academy.

“I made a 93 on my math test mom! When I saw the score I was so relieved! I thought for sure I had done awful” Margaret, a spirited 15 year old said proudly. Steve however, was more enthused about his friends new 4x4 truck. Like most 17 year old boys, vehicles were one of the things at the fore front of his thoughts day in and day out.

Shelby listened and responded with all the enthusiasm she could summon, but still felt absent minded and weary. The day had taken its’ toll on her and all she wanted was a few minutes to lay down in peace and quiet.

As she finished supper her husband, Tom, walked in from his job with the power company.

“Hey I’m home! What a day . . .”

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here!” Shelby interrupted. “Will you please put supper on the table while I fix the glasses?”

“I just . . . okay.”

“Thanks Tom,” replied a very tired mother.

As they all sat down and ate their evening meal, they all talked about their day’s events and the people they came in contact with. It was the first time they had all been together that day – as it usually was.

“Dad, do you and mom want to play that new game Grandma sent us?” asked Margaret?

“I’ve had a hard day at work darling, I don’t feel like playing a game,” replied her dad.

“Yeah, me too. Why don’t you and Steve play it together?” their mother suggested.

“We need four players though. And besides, we wanted y’all to play it with us. Y’all use to play games with us all the time,” spoke up Steve.

“But that was before I started working overtime and your mom got this new job. Just wait until ya’ll get a job, then you’ll see how hard it is. But maybe we can find time on the weekend.”

“Sure,” Steve mumbled.

To be continued . . .

Discovering God's Way to Raise a Home (Fiction)

“Ugh! What a day this has been! I believe if one more thing goes wrong I will lose my mind!” Shelby Noles, thinking about everything that tried her patience that day, set her purse and keys down on the counter with a loud thud. She remembered all the complaint calls she got from the Alltel customers who were not happy with the way their cell phones were working.

“I don’t see why they have to be so rude about it. Yelling doesn’t fix things. And I didn’t cause their phones to drop their calls in the first place.”

She pulled off her long coat and bumped the thermostat up. Noticing what time it was she started cooking. She would have been home earlier had her computer not have crashed 30 minutes before quitting time. IT took a whole hour to get all her documents back in order, making her arrive home 30 minutes later than usual. Now she only had half an hour before her children would be home from school.

Once she got supper going she walked down the long hallways to empty the over flowing laundry basket. Feeling as exhausted as a baseball player after a big game, washing the laundry was the last thing she wanted to do. But she never felt like doing her house hold chores, so why should today be any different. However, she knew the clothes wouldn’t get done on their own so she bent down to pull out the clothes wondering when the last time was that her back ached so much from sitting all day in an office chair.

Once the laundry was in the washing machine, she was back to work cooking over the hot stove. The meal tonight was spaghetti. The same meal she cooked for her husband the day they got home from their honey moon. She had taken such joy in preparing that meal then, and was delighted over his hearty appetite and complements. “Life was so wonderful then,” she thought. “And so easy. What has gone wrong?”

Yes, she still loved her husband just as much as she did then, maybe even more, but she no longer had time to enjoy those small services and ‘gifts’ she gave to her husband each day. The question echoed in her mind, "What has gone wrong?"

To be continued . . .

Transactions

I can't believe I'm almost done with college. The past year and a half has flew by like I couldn't imagine. First Grandpa gave me his old car, I got a job, then my GED. Once I started college things really started to speed up. Now I find myself reaching the end of the tunnel with mixed emotions. I will be glad to be done with all the bookwork and long hours of studying which only keep me from spending more time with my family or reading books I want to read. Yet at the same time, it's kind of cool being a college student! : ) I feel very grown-up to say the least.

There is also the excitment of getting a real job. I suppose since I never intended on staying at the restaurant I am at right now for a long time, I never considered it a real job. Plus, the job I have right now doesn't have benefits. But my next job will hopefully be one that I can stay at for a while. It will be a job that I can be proud of.

But before I know it this transaction from college to the medical feild will be over. Truely, our life is "even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." So I am going to try to enjoy my last few weeks of college before they are gone. (But I will still celebrate with gladness when it is all over! : )