Everyone Deserves a Roomba!

Last Christmas my mom gave me a Roomba.   For the non-Roomba savvy folks, it's an automatic vacuum cleaner.   But I promise this blog isn't about the wonders of a vacuum cleaner.  Well...maybe it kinda is.  At first I was intrigued because you literally  program it and it cleans whenever your heart desires.  You don't even have to be home for it to do it's thing!  No more gritty floors...no more dog hair....no more dirt.  I come home to clean floors everyday.  However, I am realizing how much more the Roomba brings to life than just a clean floor.

Roomba gives me a little extra time in my day to spend with friends and family.  Many friends and family asked me why I took a hiatus from blogging.  And this is best explained through the Roomba.  Time is limited--you only get 24 hours in a day to do and see everything you desire.  And how you choose  to spend your time is a rather personal decision.  The last 7 months of school involved some intense work and MANY MANY MANY hours of writing and  data entry.  And just for fun, due to a home robbery, I got to re-do the majority of data entry and a good bit of writing (Note: There were many tears involved in re-doing data entry and writing.  You definitely get a sense of academic "rock bottom" when you realize 24 months of work has just been stolen from you...10 weeks before it is due.)  Anyhow, the time spent on schoolwork was significant and rather consuming.  So time outside of school was mostly consumed with work, eating and sleeping.  I chose to spend any and everything bit of time in between with my family and close friends rather than blogging.  I dedicated time to go to church.  I took advantage of breakfast dates with my grandpa. I spent time with my parents.  I enjoyed weekend visits with my sister, niece and nephews.  I chose to invest time building a relationship with a great man rather than blogging.   And even with dedicating all the in between minutes to family and friends, these relationships still suffered.  I have many friendships I feel as though I am repairing because I have been absent.  But at the end of the day there is only so much time and I did the best I could with the time I had.  But I had to let go of blogging, at least momentarily.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned over the past 4 years, both through school and in life, is the value of spending time with people.  And that is where Roomba takes center stage.  My Roomba just symbolizes time I get to spend with people.  Although I adore my old chocolate lab and cannot imagine my life without him, the amount of dog hair he leaves behind is less than desirable.  It might seem really, really silly but the fact I don't have to spend an hour a day cleaning up the dog hair gives me time to spend where it matters.  It allows me to focus on other things.  Things that are way more important than worrying about cleaning or tidying my house.

Luke 10: 38-42
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  His sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught.  But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. {-OR cleaning dog hair off the floor...insert whatever task in your life is shifting your time and focus from what really matters-)  She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work?  Tell her to come and help me."  But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!  These is only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."

So identify your distraction and find your Roomba.  Don't let the housework, schoolwork, work work, or the general craziness of life, distract you from spending time where it matters.  Find whatever "Roomba" you need to give you time to fellowship and spend time with your friends and family.  You never know when your time with them is up.  And don't let your focus be away from God.  Roomba away the distraction so you can focus your time on God, family and friends!

God, family and friends,

Ashley Lucille

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