I had given an excellent talk to a ladies group on daily devotions, but it now lay buried at the bottom of a drawer and I had to admit that daily commotions had taken their place!

I just couldn’t wake up before the first baby’s cry, and once the bedlam started – just where in our small lodge could I ever find a quiet place to meet with God. Three pairs of small hands clutched at me all day long, and if they weren’t clutching at me, they were clutching at each other and I’d have to de-clutch them and watch and see that the baby didn’t get trodden underfoot in the confined space. One morning I ignored Peter’s screams and went ahead and read my Bible anyway. I could hear David and Judy happily playing some game, and therefore reckoned Peter’s cries were an ‘I want to play too’ tantrum.

After the wailing music had continued for some time, I thought I’d better investigate and went through to their bedroom. The bunk beds stood against the walls and there was a bar across the top to prevent anyone from falling out. From it dangled Peter, who had been hooked up there to keep him out of the way! When I lifted him down, his little arms remained stretched straight above his head and I had to massage them back to life again!

Well, now, I reasoned, if I couldn’t meet the Eternal before the day began, then I’d better meet Him when it was over! But when it was over so was I, and I decided it wasn’t very polite to give God the most worn-out part of me.

What was I to do? Looking around the living room the next day my eye fell on the play pen that just about filled the room.

That would do it! I clambered in and put the children out and found a place where at last I was all alone, but still had a vantage point from which I could keep an eye on the infants.

The little imps rattled the bars in fury trying to get at me – in fact – that was the only time I could remember them wanting to get in instead of out and I told them they would just have to wait as it was Mummy’s turn in the play pen!