How to Have Mercy for My Mess

How to Have Mercy for My Mess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

I walked into the beautiful home of a new friend for the very first time. She is a single mother of 3 young children, successful entrepreneur and multi-business owner.  As I was ooo-ing and ahh-ing over the impeccable decor and the stunning architecture of her home, she repeatedly asked me to overlook the “mess.”  After a couple mentions about the kids’ toys I stopped and quickly replied, “One of my superpowers is that I only see messes in my own house, not in others’!”

It’s so true. So many of us have unlimited mercy for other people’s “messes,” whether that be a cluttered home, a wayward child, a disconnected marriage or even difficulties getting pregnant, but when it comes to the messes in our own lives, we seem to have run out of compassion.  Why are we so hard on ourselves? We can be rocking it in so many areas of life, but we beat ourselves up over the one or two areas that may be a little bit messy.

God’s Word is clear.  The second greatest commandment that Jesus gives in Mark 12:31 is for us to love others as we love ourselves. Leave it to Jesus to be able to strategically maneuver two crucial commandments into one simple message.  In order to love others well, we first have to be able to love ourselves well! No matter who you are, the number of degrees you may have, or the amount of talent you may possess, it isn’t realistic or possible for any of us to have success in every area of our lives all at the same time.

It sounds ridiculous even saying it right now, yet, we can become our own biggest critics when life isn’t going as planned.

Do what Jesus says. Love yourself and others well. Have mercy for your own mess.

One Small Win: Today, I want you to think of one area of your life that is messy.  Now, take a look at it through the superpower of mercy, just as you would see it in someone else’s life. How do you see your mess now?

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As a Couples Life & Fertility Support Coach and 3x Surrogate that has carried five children for three families dealing with infertility, Tiffany Jo Baker spends her time speaking, writing and helping women and couples birth their dreams and navigate the road and relationships well while trying to conceive. Married for 18 years to her polar opposite, yet best friend, together they have two teenage girls and have built a life and family based on faith, core values, humor and forgiveness. She loves to laugh, eat french fries, find amazing deals and create new memories.?? www.TiffanyJoBaker.com

 

 

Cleaning the Kitchen: Practical Ways to Cut Complaining & Get it Done

Cleaning the Kitchen: Practical Ways to Cut Complaining & Get it Done

“I didn’t make this mess. So why do I have to clean it up?”

For years, I heard these words of protest from my kids when it was their turn to clean up the kitchen.

Sometimes, I responded with a snarky comeback about all my years of selfless diaper-changing. Other times, I cleaned up the kitchen myself.

Honestly, whenever I took care of the kitchen on my own, I caught myself thinking the exact same thing:

I didn’t make this mess. So why do I have to clean it up?

The problem with cleaning the kitchen

Our protests reveal our belief that whoever makes the kitchen mess should be the one to clean it up.

As with so many time-honored cliches, this seems so logical.

Like, “You break it; you fix it.”

And, “You make your bed; you lie in it.”

“You mess it, you clean it.”

It just felt right.

But it caused all sorts of overwhelmingly negative feelings, such as annoyance, frustration, irritation, and resentment. (Just for starters.)

A different way of thinking

A few years ago, I realized there are valid exceptions to the “you mess it, you clean it” rule.

1. Sometimes, the person who makes the kitchen mess has done so to bless the family, or perhaps a houseful of guests, with a delicious meal. Since they’ve done all the work of fixing the food, it’s only fair for others to pitch in and help with the clean-up.

2. Other times, the kitchen stays messy while a cleaning-related process is happening, such as running the dishwasher or waiting for pots and pans in the drainer to air dry.

3. Often, it’s impossible to figure out “who made this mess.” When we try, we end up in petty arguments:

– “No, that’s not my knife. I put my knife in the dishwasher already!”
– “Those aren’t my crumbs. I know how to use a sponge!”
– “The stain in the sink is green. I never fix green food.”

Our solution to cut the complaining

Instead of wasting our time and energy fretting about “who made this mess?” we started asking ourselves one simple question when entering the kitchen:

“How can I move the kitchen to its next stage?”

Together, we came up with a list of kitchen stages and necessary actions:

Stage:                                                                              Action:
The sink is full of dishes.                                                  Put them in the dishwasher.
The dishwasher is full.                                                     Run it.
The dishwasher is clean.                                                 Empty it.
The dishes in the drainer are dry.                                  Put them away.
The counters are crumby.                                               Wipe them down.

This one simple change in focus produced surprising results.

1. We’ve quit worrying about “Who made the mess?” and accepted the fact kitchens get messy.
2. We’ve all taken ownership of the kitchen. And its messes and clean-up.
3. We’ve become more considerate. We realize when we each do our small part, the “next stage” requires far less work.

Making it work for you

Your kitchen stages may well be different than ours. And if you have younger children, you’ll want to break the various stages and actions into micro-steps. Perhaps even make a stages flow chart and wipe-off checklist to put on the fridge.

Consider printing and posting 1 Corinthians 12:14-27 as a reminder that while we are unique individuals, God calls us to work together as one.

One Small Win: However you choose to do it, intentionally change the protest “I didn’t make this mess!” to the question “How can I move the kitchen to its next stage?”

You’ll say, “Good-bye” to overwhelming negativity.

And “Hello” to cooperation in the kitchen.


personal manifestoCheri Gregory is a teacher, speaker, author, and Certified Personality Trainer. Her passion is helping women break free from destructive expectations. She writes and speaks from the conviction that “how to” works best in partnership with “heart, too.”

Cheri is the co-author, with Kathi Lipp, of The Cure for the “Perfect” Life and Overwhelmed.

Cheri has been “wife of my youth” to Daniel, her opposite personality, for twenty-eight years and is “Mom” to Annemarie (25) and Jonathon (24), also opposite personalities.

Are you a Highly Sensitive Person?  Take the self-quiz and discover the surprising strengths of a tender heart.