Peaceful Chaos

Yesterday afternoon I had the opportunity to visit with my friend and her beautiful family of eight.

Whenever I pull into their driveway I chuckle because I see the cars and feel like I’m intruding on some sort of get-together but then remind myself that all of the cars belong to their crew!

As we pulled into the drive, the dad was heading out for a run, their oldest was standing outside as their family friend was working on her car’s air conditioning, and my friend, with a houseful of little ones awaited us inside.

We walked in and Nick was greeted as if he was some sort of “fresh meat” ready to be devoured. This is typical whenever we visit and I love watching them attack Nick because the one thing he doesn’t have in his life is a sibling to tug at his leg, jump on his back, or wrestle around with. As long as my friend is ok with Nick playfully reacting to her boys, I am perfectly fine with merely letting the boys be boys.

We sat in her family room and conversed as plastic toys flew to and fro, boys jumped from sofa to sofa, latched onto Nick’s leg as he drug them across the floor. It literally was a combat zone filled with giggles and laughter. While mom tried to calm them down to no avail, I sat there and couldn’t help but laugh myself. Are you kidding? I thought. This is GREAT!

What makes it so great is the fact that while these boys are running wild, the evidence of love abounding under that roof grips my soul. Family pictures line the walls. Christian books sit on the end tables. And rather than four boys yelling at mom because “so and so hit me over the head with such and such” there is laughter. Something I would consider “peaceful chaos.” It’s what makes her house a home…Life under the roof of my friend’s house is an example of how homes should be.

As I sat there bursting with laughter on the inside I glanced across the room to see a frazzled, yet submissive look from my beautiful friend. And while she may have many moments of which she just wants to take a walk alone, I know…without and ounce of doubt, that she wouldn’t trade her life for the world. One of the many things I admire about her.

Another thing that I admire her greatly for, is her love for Jesus. Seldom does she speak of any one thing and not bring up the name of Jesus, mentioning His mercy and grace, His sovereignty, His love, His teachings. She has an amazing passion. And while we share the love of Jesus, we also share our struggles with humanness. Our frustrations, our anger, our questions.

Amidst the noise and dodging toys, if there were moments I had to sit and read her lips for lack of audibly being able to hear her, I was comforted merely by seeing the look of passion on her face. Her eyes truly are the window to her soul and I’m pretty sure that everyone who knows her feels the same.

When her husband arrived home from his run, they rounded up the rest of the boys to take them into town to go for a swim and leave us girls alone, for some “girl time.”

As the front door closed, the house was quiet and still. And I have to wonder what I would do if I didn’t have the sound of laughter and love in my life. How empty it would make me feel.

We spent the remainder of our time together expressing our concerns of others. We spoke of the heartaches and hurts of this earthly life. We cried. We prayed. And I walked away feeling so blessed to have moments like that. Thanking God for knowing who to send in my life and at just the right time. And encouraged by words spoken and seeing love displayed through the art of “peaceful chaos.”