Pay Day

Okay, truthfully Mason does not get paid. But, once a week (usually on Saturday) he gets an allowance if all of his chores are completed. This week Mason finished all of his required family duties, assigned to him because he is twelve and a member of our family, and he asked for his allowance. As usual, I did not have the money, $5. So his allowance would be "paid" at a later date once I had the meager cash on hand.

It must be made clear at this point that neither I nor his father receive any amount of allowance; although the children insist that mine is in the form of coffee. It's true, coffee rewards me with a boost of energy and sometimes with pleasure that this is a cup that I do not share with them as I do everything else. But let's face it, William and I are "paid" less than this Jr. High Schooler and frankly we are responsible for much more. Ha!

However, he does work hard doing his assigned tasks of laundering the family's bath towels, vacuuming the whole house, taking out the trash twice weekly, clearing and cleaning off the table each meal (including zapping the floor), dusting everything (including places that were never dusted until he received the job) and helping with his siblings while I make dinner. He also must keep up his grades, all A's first quarter, and take care of anything else we assign to him whenever we are hard-pressed or just need a helping hand. Honestly, 95% of the time he is helpful.

So this week he asked for his allowance and I did not have the money, postponing his "pay day" until I came up with it later. What is interesting about this whole ritual which takes place weekly is that this week it worked to our benefit to pay him later. This became clear first on Sunday when we discovered he was missing his required PE uniform shirt and later on Monday morning when he discovered he did not have his jacket. It's funny how quickly the money motivated him to find these two missing items. Anyone who has a child knows that fear of punitive action from a coach or fear of freezing in cold weather might not produce the missing items even with the added nagging of a concerned parent. But you put a dollar sign on the reward for finding lost items and no longer will they be lost. It's funny really. It took a couple of days, but on Wednesday when he jumped into the van, first thing he said, "I found my stuff; you can give me my allowance."

Today is Thursday; I still need to give him his money. I'm sure he will not let me forget. Now Kas is missing her sweater. HMM...What might motivate this five year old to find it?

What will Mason buy with all his money? Sometimes he says he wants a lap top computer or more games for his game boy. Once he told me he was saving for Christmas gifts. Recently, my uncle asked me what motivated me. He was referring to how I am dealing with our family's ongoing special needs and the overwhelming levels of the never-ending stress. At first I couldn't tell him, not in concrete ways. Our family's nutrition is important and sleep at night is helpful, although elusive many nights. Those two things have not been enough. What has been the motivation that keeps me from jumping off this topsy-turvy boat that is barely afloat in rough and stormy waters?

I call and He calms. "And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves; but He Himself was asleep. And they came to Him, saying, 'Save us, Lord; we are perishing!' And He said to them 'Why are you timid, you men of little faith?' Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and it became perfectly calm. And the men marveled, saying 'What kind of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?'"(Matt 8: 23-27)

He does not forget me and calms the storm whenever I call to him through faith that He can do it. I know that He is more than a man, and it is with Him that my treasure and motivation are found. For some, pay day comes weekly, twice monthly, or once a month. Unlike Mason's pay days which are the same meager amount and usually weekly, my pay days are paid daily although in unpredictable amounts, sometimes too big for my heart to hold and sometimes as simple as a sweet smile. Another thing I know is that the real reward of a job well-done is being with the One who gives out the "pay." He has paid my debt and now rewards me with His Goodness.

I hope you enjoy your pay day today, too! M&R7