Freeing a Jailbird

My three children would live outside if I would let them. For some reason, they perceive the house as a prison. Once inside, mommy closes the door, turns the lock...and everybody cries.

Sideways rain, terrifying thunder and lightening, unbelievable heat, finger-numbing snow--no weather is bad enough to necessitate retiring to the comfort of a semi-climate-controlled house.

And, on cooler-hot mornings like this one, it's even worse to be stuck indoors. The twins have learned they can stand up against the screen door and shake it, hinting ever so loudly that they want to go back out and explore.

But sadly, my little jailbirds stayed in their prison cell this morning because I had to catch up on housework I've put off this week. They don't realize it, but at times, this mommy considers her house a prison, too.

On bad days, I consider my life to be a prison. At those low moments, I see myself chained to a much-needed job that can only be done when I would rather be sleeping; chained to a husband who is sometimes not appreciative; and chained to children who need me every second. I'm trapped behind iron bars of housework that never ends; loads of laundry that I thought I just washed yesterday; and four hungry mouths who continually look to me to fill them.

What little news I've managed to catch this week has shown me a world of people who view their lives as prisons, too. A prominent lawyer in our area escaped through suicide. Another man I know has escaped the bonds of 20+ years of marriage to "try something new."

It's all too easy to see life as a prison, as a series of walls that keep clanking shut behind me, keeping me from what I truly want to be doing, from who I truly want to be.

It's all too easy to see life as series of "I can't's."

But change the magnification on the microscope, and suddenly I can see the job is a blessing. The children and husband are gifts from God. The housework and cooking are ways to show my love to my family.

How I see life is a choice. It involves daily taking those negative thoughts captive. (2 Cor. 10:5).

Jesus set me free long ago. But it's up to me to live like I'm free.