Skidooing

When my boys were toddlers, I knew when nap time was over because invariably the sounds of BT bouncing about, putting on a show for Bruster, followed by cackles from the crib would resound down the hallway. One day this we're-up-now-Mommy announcement came in a very unusual way. I heard BT yelling something, as though he were frustrated, then a loud THUMP, followed by Bruster's cackle. It scared me at first, and I took off for their room as fast as I could.
I cracked the door to see that BT had an open book placed on the floor in front of him. He looked at the book sternly, positioned his fists on his hips, and proclaimed, "Boo cadoo! I cun do!" With much anticipation, he jumped onto the open pages of the book, only to shake his head in frustration when he landed on top of the book and not within the world of the illustrations. Those of you familiar with the show Blue Clues understand what was going on. There is a segment in each episode in which Blue and Steve sing, "Blue skidoo... we can too." Then they jump into a book, painting, etc., and explore the drawings up close and personal. Ben just knew that if he persisted he could "cadoo" just like "Boo."
This is one of the funniest things that I have ever caught him doing, and those of you who know him would agree when I say that he is a real corker! I'm still laughing over that one, but it made me wonder.... Are pre-schoolers the only ones who have difficulty drawing lines between fiction and reality? How often in my life have I tried to skidoo? I open up Martha Stewart Living. (sing along with Blue, if you know the tune) Do-do-do, do-da-doo... THUMP! I just can't seem to pull off the ideals she sets before me. I see a model on the cover of a magazine. Do-do-do, do-da-doo... THUMP! I cannot manage to skidoo into a size 2, no matter how hard I try. I see a career-oriented woman being praised for her accomplishments, and do-do-do... well, you get the point.
The reality is that no matter how hard we try, we cannot have it all. Therefore, we must guard our hearts against the many skewed definitions of womanhood prevalent today. How do we do that? By looking to the only place we can find absolute truth, the Holy Bible.

Titus 2:4-5 tells me to "have love for (my) husband and children, to be wise in mind, clean in heart, kind; working in (my) house, living under the authority of (my) husband; so that no evil may be said of the word of God."
Proverbs 31:27 & 30 instructs me to "looketh well to the ways of (my) household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."
I take these words at face value and believe my life as a wife and mother is to be one of service... service to my husband, my children, my home. It means that my life is not my own, to do with as I please, but is the Lord's and is to be used for His glory. It means that I regularly check my motives. Does this "thing" that I must do or have fit into God's plan for me as a woman, a wife, a mother? Are His glory and my home life in the forefront of my thinking? It means being continually poured out, fitting into my husband's plans, considering his needs before mine. It means not ingesting the idle lies the world dishes out about who I should be or what I should achieve.
Seems like a tall order, doesn't it? It is, and I have never lived it perfectly. But when I am tempted to skidoo, I look to Christ. When I remember that He left the riches and glory of heaven and endured the cross and the wrath that I deserve, I realize that leaving a career to work at home pales in comparison. When I reflect on his body that was broken and blood that was poured out, I know that my responsibilities at home are just not that hard. When I contemplate his agony, it becomes clear that submitting to my husband who loves me dearly is not as sacrificial as I want to make it out to be. When I remember the price Jesus paid for me, the need to skidoo is squelched because I know that I do not need the recognition of this world to feel important. I know that I have a loving God who is pleased by my service at home and who gives me the grace each day to be satisfied in Him.