*this post got missed in my old drafts for some reason. It was written last October, but if the chaos described is relatable to you now, maybe God meant this one to wait for you… to inspire you today. ♡

“Someday, I’ll invest more time in my blog,” I assure myself. “When life slows down enough that I have time to write.”

That’s why I post so rarely.

Not only because life doesn’t slow down, as you might be guessing.

But also, because the rare day that does proceed in a calm, leisurely manner holds very little that can be creatively rephrased into a blog post.

Yes, those days are a gift. A time to worship, to praise God, to inhale His grace and exhale in peace. And I can and do write about those times.

But when I read only about others’ calm days, it’s hard to be inspired when the average chaos that fills most of my days is nothing like that ideal day that just flows.

But maybe, God allows our lives to be full so we need to put in effort to seek Him.

Maybe He calls us out of the mundane to find Him, constant as ever in the chaos.

Could it be that God can show His sufficiency best in the face of a long list of responsibilities?

It would be so nice to feel less frazzled in class. To have time to answer every whimsical thought that arises, whether on topic or not.

Yet if I wouldn’t have a few too many things to fit into a day, would I be prompted to check my values and priorities as often?

In the swirling chaos that was today, I took time to explain why King Asa was not a Christian, even though he was a good man who obeyed God. (To be a follower of Christ wasn’t possible until Christ actually came… Asa lived a good while before the New Testament.)

We talked about idol worship, and ways to crush the idols in our lives.

I learned that some of my students’ older siblings are on their phones a lot, and idolism is suspected by my sixth graders.

I taught independence, encouraging them to use their own judgement about what’s appropriate to write in a story for school and what isn’t.

In the madness that was 23 students and 23 math lessons to check, return, correct, check, and return again… In the repetition of hearing the books of the New Testament recited 23 times… In the never ending swirl of books being returned to have corrections marked, and just as quickly leaving my desk to be claimed by their owners… In all the waving hands and eager eyes (either pleading for help or sparkling with mischief, but definitely needing as answer this instant)…

God was in today. God was in my classroom. God was in me, making it possible to teach the class.

And if I let the chaos blind me, if I allow myself to be caught up in the swirl of life’s responsibilities, I will lose sight of God in my story.

But He never leaves – and He calls me into these busy seasons so that I learn to seek Him persistently. Diligently. And confidently, knowing He is in my today.

So when I paused to prioritize those questions – I met my Father’s smile of approval. He cares what I’m teaching these young hearts about Him – more than if the math lesson gets done in time for recess.

The swirl of chaos that is today becomes beautiful when God is in it.

And I can live with passion and purpose in my wild and wonderful life for Him!