I Have To Verses I Get To

  I like most overwhelmed, overworked, overtasked, woman, mother, wife, girl can get into a mode.  The I have to mode.  You know the one where you begrudge everyone in your life because of the the things you have to do. The truth is we do not have to do anything.  Have you ever thought about that before?  We do not have to anything.  We can do absolutely nothing!  But we GET to do everything.  When I get in the mode where everything is just something I have to do, and I start to begrudge the ones I love, I remind myself I do not have to do this, I get to.
  I don't have to wake up my children in the morning, I Get to wake them up. The way I wake them up will impact their whole little day.  Will I do it cheerfully and lovingly or will I be abrupt and gruff with them? 
  I don't have to make my husband's cup of coffee, I get to.   By giving him his cup of coffee it is saying I love you, I believe in you, and thank you.  It is a small gesture to encourage him as his day begins.  If I choose to do it in such a way of , here is your coffee (gruffly and put out) what am I saying to him? Now he is thinking I have made her made and all I did was smile at her.  Did I smile wrong? An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,  But she who shames him is like the rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 12:4 NASB  I GET to make a choice do I want to be my husband's crown or like a cancer in his bones?  
  I don't have to make my children's breakfast, I get to make their breakfast.  I Get to choose do so.  They don't have to have a well balanced breakfast, I can send them out into the world letting them think, they are not important enough for me to take them time to prepare their first meal of the day. After all I don't have to wake up 30 minutes early to do so.  I get to wake up 30 minutes early.
  I do not have to instruct my children, I get to instruct them.  I get to mold their worldview, I get to breathe truth and life into their lives. I get to whisper love into their life.  Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are children of one's youth.  How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5 NASB What do I choose to do with the gift and reward God gave me?  Will my arrows be sharpened for battle, with deadly points to defend what I have taught them and impact the life they live?  Or will I allow them to be dull not really impacting those around them at all?  Will I choose to use my blessings for good or do I choose to say to God, not today nope, I do not want my blessings?
  I do not have to have clean my house, or do laundry.  I get to, because I have a family, I have a body and we do not live in the garden of Eden, clothing is not optional.  I Get to have a clean home, to keep diseases, infection and grossness down.  I Get to do laundry so  we all can smell fresh and clean, and not offend those around us.  
   If you work for money (as I did at one time); I do not have to go to work.  I get to, I get to impact the lives around me for good or bad.  I Get to choose whether I will be a joy to those around me and let a little or a lot of Jesus shine or whether I choose to hate every minute I am at work.  I do not have to do my best, I Get to do my best.  Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, Colossians 3:23 NASB I get to serve the Lord even at work, I am working for him, with the talents He has given to me.  Even more, I am also a reflection of to whom I claim to be.  If we are claiming to be a Christian isn't our work to reflect it?  Do all things without grumbling or disputing, so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world, Philippians 2:14-15 NASB I like to quote these to my children, but usually it comes back as a gentle reminder to me as well.   Am I living in such a way? 
  None of us are without fault, none of us are perfect, all of us have days where, life overwhelms us.  Where it feels like we have to do everything and no one helps us.  The truth is we do not have to do anything and we get to do everything.  Finally Jesus didn't have to die on the cross for us.  He could of said no to God, he still had that choice. He chose to die to self, lay his life down for all of humanity.  Not for his glory but for Gods. God didn't have to send HIS son to die on the cross for us.  He chose to.  Why? Because he loved us that much.  God has gifted us with each day, with a husband and children.  He didn't have to, he got to.  God loved us enough to give us these blessings, we do not have to love them. We Get to.