just a minute

ever have one of those days where you start off with great intentions? the plans in your mind seem attainable and you mentally map out a timeframe of what will get done when? "ok, i'll wash the dishes and get the laundry done before sesame street. we'll do some hooked-on-phonics and have a tea party today. i'll have my quiet time after lunch and organize my recipe binders and coupons during bene's rest time. maybe make a phone call to a long-lost friend, play outside and, at some point, squeeze in some exercise before i get dinner in the oven for a hungry man."
so here comes bene, "play with me", "would you like to sit with me mommy", "let's have a tea party", "do you wanna play pocket girls?" i LOVE playing with her, i love the girly-girl in her, the innocence of her little spirit and i'm honored that she wants to play with me...all..day..long. i think i have as much fun as she does some days, just being a child. no schedule, no set plans. in our pj's until dinner if we want. just us girls.
but my usual response? "just a minute, sweetie. i'll be right there." and then it's an hour or two later and i realize that i haven't offered to blow bubbles outside, read books, or dressed the pocket girls to go their party because i'm so busy straightening the house and folding mounds of laundry. i am by no means a terrific housekeeper but the lazy perfectionist in me wants the house to at least look clean. although i can't remember what month i mopped the kitchen last. i know, it doesn't make any sense.
but i find myself doing the same thing with God. i hear His whispers. i feel the nudge. "just a minute", i say. "i'll be right there". and then i'm not. though, i have found time to take my pregnancy nap, flip through a magazine or do absolutely nothing for two hours. it is so easy for me to forget that God has a daily desire for me to pursue Him and seek the pleasure of His company. sometimes i get so caught up in my own agenda or the dailies of being a housewife that i forget to stop, breathe and be still in the quietness of God. to rest in the presentness of the many moments i'm given everyday. forgive me, Lord for wasting so much time and put in me a spirit to be still and listen for You...and a desire to play polly pockets.