A special play date

Recently I had the privilege of watching our friend's son while they were in the hospital welcoming their new daughter into the world. It was such a great time for Emily! She's had such a hard time learning how to share and how to interact with other children. The two days and an evening with Eli really helped her understand social interactions. It was so great to watch the change in her and to see her sharing. Eli was great too. Such a well behaved, good mannered child! It was cute watching him interact with our little Sarah. Little did he know that he was going to be returning home to interact full time with his new baby sister! Anyway, while I was watching Eli I did my absolute best to make sure that everything was tip top for him. I made sure we stuck to his schedule, made sure to cook nutritious meals, made sure my temperament was nice and even toned, made sure the house was free of any clutter or dirt, made sure nap time and bedtime routines were followed out, etc. etc. Well, it was in the midst of all of this that it hit me, Why am I not doing all of this for my own children and husband? I put so much effort into making sure everything was perfect for our guest, but am I putting in that same effort every day at home? And furthermore, why do I run around the house the day before company cleaning like a mad woman to make sure everything is orderly and spotless? Why do I tend to want others to view my home as welcoming when the people inside my home may very well feel like they are living in chaos? Now before this sounds like I'm heading down into a depression pit, let me say that I know I'm not a horrible housekeeper or mom. What I'm getting at is that I realized last weekend that I need to be putting the same effort that I put into our house guests into my own family day in and day out. Not only will my family benefit from my efforts, but God calls me to give them my best as outlined in Proverbs 31. So yea, Sarah and Kevin thought that we were doing them a favor in watching Eli and it turns out that I was equally blessed!