Claudine Henry

Domestically-Impaired, but Eternally-Focused

Beginnings· Domestically Impaired

I am domestically-impaired.  (No, really…I am.)

When company is coming I have been known to hide dirty laundry in the bathtub and dirty dishes in the oven.  In our house, on the rare occasion when our clothes ARE clean, it is not uncommon for them to stay in the basket by the dryer for indefinite periods of time. (After all, why should I fold them if we are going to wear them again?) And before you can sit on our sofa you will more than likely have to move something to find it.  (It is often piled high and covered up.)  Running a home is just hard for me.

On the other hand, if you need prayer…I’m your gal.  I can pray easily, carry on a conversation with anyone, and stand before a crowd and speak with boldness.  All those things involve talking…I do that well.  In fact, I probably do that best.  My dad used to say that I could talk the bark off of a tree.  (A skill he knew well, I got it from him.)  Most people just say, “She never meets a stranger.”

Some days I think I have two-personalities.  How can doing one thing seem so natural and doing the other seem so hard?  How can I see God at work in my world with such clearness and yet not see the dirty dishes in my sink and the dust on my floor?

I am also a random thinker.  I know that because my friend, Susan*, told me so.

It was a long time ago, the night before a sales convention in Dallas.  A large group of us from all over the country were sitting around her hotel room catching up on our lives.  I had started one of my stories, but as usual, detoured in the middle to tell another fact that somehow was only slightly related to the initial story I was telling.

“Stop.”  Susan said, holding her hand up.  “Just stop.  Finish one story first before you tell another one.  Don’t start another one until you get that one out.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, only slightly taken aback.  I continued on with my initial story and when I finished, looked at her with a defiant see-I-can-do-that stare.

She just stared back at me, perplexed, with an I’m-deep-in-thought-but-don’t-know-why kind of look on her face.  Then she blurted out, shaking her finger at me, “You know what? You are a random-thinker.”  It was like the light had come on in her brain.  Now, nodding her head in agreement with her finger, she said it again, this time a little louder, “You are a random-thinker! You randomly run from thing to thing without a pause or a finished thought.”  Then slowing down, with a smug expression she added, “You know how I know that?”

“No,’ I said, unsure of where she was going.

“I used to teach Kindergarten,” she said proudly.

I nearly choked on the can of soda I was drinking.

It was funny and we all laughed.  After all, I am long-winded.  It wasn’t until later, when I thought about it, that I recognized how not-so-nice-of-a-comment it was.  She didn’t mean to insult; it just popped out of her mouth. The fact that I was in my early 40’s and had just been compared to a five year old didn’t really compute at the moment. (She later apologized.)  To be honest, I didn’t catch it either. I was so used to laughing at myself and having others laugh with me, that the thought of it being less than okay didn’t even enter my head.

When I got home from that weekend I grabbed my dictionary and looked up the word, random.  It said, lacking any definite plan or prearranged order; haphazard.

I decided that was a pretty fair assessment of my life.  I am a random-thinker. And my life, especially at home, is often haphazard.

As I prepared to start this blog my initial idea was to create a fun place where we learned how to clean a house and cook a meal together.  After all, there have to be other random people like me.   Everything I read said that was the way to do it: find your voice, pick a platform, and stay with that format.

There was only one problem.

I am also in ministry…a writer/speaker with a focus on prayer also serving as a Chaplain to the Homebound for my church.  Many of you have been reading my stories and laughing with me for a decade.  If I focused on only the side I struggled with, no matter how funny, would I not be leaving out the part that I am called to do?

The more I thought about it, the more I recognized the truth…I am a mixed-bag, a random-lot, a mish-mash of ideas and interests.  I can decorate a house and set a pretty table, yet have no idea how to cook or clean.   I can write a descriptive sentence, but can’t remember the difference between an adverb or an adjective.  My mind can flit from here to there and back again in seconds with no set direction and yet focus on scripture with ease.  For me to be true to myself, my blog has to be true to me as well.  I may not know the best way to clean a kitchen floor, but I do know that I am loved by an infinite God.  And the God I serve loves my randomness; in fact, He created me this way.

So…instead of a specific “platform” like prayer or house management or design, this blog will reflect all of me…my faith…my life…and those eternal moments that seem to stand out so clearly.  If in the process I learn a cleaning tip or two, then that is a bonus.

If it sounds fun, hang on.  (And tell your friends!)  I’m not certain where we are headed, but I want us to go together.  And if you are like me…domestically impaired but eternally focused, I hope you feel right at home.

*name changed

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Comments

  2. I love you just the way you are. We can always order pizza. So proud of you girl. Looking forward to reading your blog.

    • Kathy, I love you! Words could never repay you for the help you gave me with that awful, “Domestically-Impaired” house when it was so dirty. THANK YOU!

  3. We all have different gifts and that’s a GOOD thing! Just make sure you use the gifts you have been given and you are doing this! Loved your blog!

  4. Love your honesty Claudine. You are a breath of fresh air, and I do feel that we could become kindred spirits! I will follow along for the ride with ya, might be a kick!
    Charlsa

  9. I just loved this!!! I love you!! Thanks for the reminder to just be who God made you! (As I look around at the house I can’t keep up with)

  11. Claudine, my new friend, I’m excited to get to know you better. Love this first entry! I’m hooked already!

  12. You’re so special. I love your blog and you. No, you’re not the only one domestically challenged but uou may be the only brave and honest soul to put yourself out there for others to relate. In fact, you relate with others on more then one level and that is another one of your gifts. Interceeding for others in prayer is another. You just keep on keeping on. Im do proud of you and I know others are too.

  13. I didn’t realize we have so much in common! My clothes live in piles too! I’ve often thought about just throwing them all away and starting over…but what if I needed something in that pile? Great blog Claudine! I’ll be following!

    • Cathy, I hear ya! I must confess — I once (that is all I’m admitting) left a pile that was damp in the basket for to long and DID have to throw it out. UGH!

  14. I’ve always thought that I had the gift of service until I heard a minister say that those with the gift of service are organized. I am not organized so I thought I might have been wrong all along. I continued to serve. I heard this same minister recently teaching the gifts of the spirit and he did not mention organization as a quality of servants. I asked him about the change and he said someone else with the gift of service had let him know that was not always a quality. Even though I was already at peace with it, I was glad he was open to change. And I’m glad I hadn’t stopped serving.

  15. Claudine, thanks for putting a label to it. I sit here having just put a spreadsheet together for my business amongst piles of books, baskets full of ‘stuff’, tables full of things I do not have a place for, inventory for my business, etc. My dog is the only one who does not have a cluttered area. I get it and I think you are an awesome lady, a prayerful lady and a great friend. You go girl!

  19. Lela, I am so going to love this. You are one special lady, and I have been blessed to watch you blossom. Love you, Bea

  21. Just want to say hi, I went to SNU also. I like your blog. I got your book recently. You are very open and honest. Looking forward to more fun things to read.