The past few days I have been very down. It seems like nothing is right, and everything seems to happen all at once. I have heard the saying, "when it rains, it pours." In my life right now, it seems to be POURING!
It is SOOOO easy to get down when things don't go our way. We get in a bad mood, stress out, even cry sometimes. I remember telling someone yesterday how hard it was just to not break down in front of everybody. I was working hard not to lose it in front of anybody yesterday. We pray for God to help us through our "stuff", for Him to shed some light on the situations, but in the "instant gratification" world we live in, it just seems like sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers like we want Him to, or as fast as we would like.
I have tried to get myself out of the rut for a couple of days now, but today, God has hit me over the head with some of His simple truths. He spoke to me in SEVERAL ways today. Thank goodness he has so much patience with me, because it took a lot for me to final get it, (I am sure that I still have some "getting" to do), but here is what I got so far.
Every morning while I am dressing Nathan, I sing to him. I always sing the same song. It goes like this:
This is the day
This is the day
That the Lord has made
That the Lord has made
We will rejoice
We will rejoice
And be glad in it
And be glad in it
This is the day that the Lord has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
This is the day
This is the day
That the Lord has made
Every morning I sing this, and every morning he smiles and listens to me. This morning, however, he did something different!
As I layed him on his changing table, I began to sing our daily song. As soon as I started, his eyes lit up so bright, he got the biggest smile on his face, and he started singing along! (well he can't say words yet, but he was sure babbling along with me). He got so excited, that he was moving his arms up and down and kicking his feet. He was making the sweetest, loudest sounds that went right along with my singing. I swear he was singing with me, and loving it! At some point in the song, I realized that in the midst of all my "stuff", God gave me another day. I was going to rejoice and be glad in it!
I prayed all the way to Nathan's daycare, then all the way to the store to get my daily tea, then all the way work, thanking God for His grace to have given me a son and for his reminder to rejoice and be glad.
OK, so now everything is going to be great, I am going to have an awesome day and stay focused on him..........Wrong! As soon as I got to work, I became bombarded with more stressful "stuff". Sadly, instead of remembering my awesome experience only a few hours earlier, I let my "stuff" affect my mood, I became stressed, and wanted to cry....again.
Thankfully, God did not give up on me (he never does!). I work in a place with such great Christian people. Little do they know, today God spoke through them, to me. They had no clue about my "stuff".....but God did. Here are some examples of things people said to me today....keep in mind that they had no idea what was going on with me, and no idea that God had already told me once to rejoice and be glad in the day. As I was walking down the hall, in the teacher's lounge, in the office, in classrooms, here is what co-workers, and some students said to me.
"Beautiful day isn't it?"
"Isn't a great day? It just makes me smile"
"Smile Katie, its a good day!"
"Good morning, its going to be a great day!"
"How are you today?"
"Be positive, its a GOOD day"
"Hope you have a great day Coach Skinner"
"Coach Skinner, can I give you a hug?"
And the list goes on and on.......
Isn't is amazing how God can use so many people to tell us something? These women and students today, had no idea what I was going through, but they were upbeat and let God speak through them.
By this time, I told God that I was sorry I got distracted so easy and that I was really going to rejoice in the day. My mood increased a little. I began to be happier, and thankful for the day.
After lunch, I headed back to my classroom and opened my book, "100 verses every mom should know."
Would you believe that today's verse for me was Psalm 118 :24, which states :
"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."
I am not kidding....I can't make this stuff up. WOW! I am pretty sure that God was trying to get my attention and trying to tell me something. Is he trying to tell you something? Are you listening?
Finally, I listened! I rejoiced in the rest of the day. It turned out to be great. We had a decent hard-working practice, church was great. Nathan had a great time playing with his Aunt Stacy in children's church. In the women's bible study, we even touched on how we should live each day to its fullest. (Our lesson was on Lot, but we tend to get side-tracked alot!) I came home, and Nathan was in an awesome mood, we played alot. Then we played some more during his bath time, he laughed the entire time! When it was time for bed, he went down very easy!
God really spoke to me today. We are not guaranteed anything.....not even the next day. It's not about us! Yes, God does care about our "stuff" and will help us through it, but that's not what it is about! As christians, we are to rejoice in EVERY day. If God gives us another day, it is our RESPONSIBILITY to use the day to serve him. Period. That's it! When we do this, we not only make our lives more enjoyeable, but also those around us. We should celebrate the many blessings we have each day.....not get caught up in our "stuff". And we all have "stuff" to deal with. Expect God to do something great for you each day....because he already does! Let's celebrate each day God gives us. Put a smile on your face and go serve other's in His name. It can be as simple as a smile, kind word, encouragement, just listening to them, or even a hug. (all of this worked for me today!) You never know how much someone needs you. The people today had no idea how much I needed everything they did for me, and they had no idea that God was using them. Let's learn from these precious people and share God's love with everyone we come in contact with. Rejoice and be glad in each day!
Thank you Lord for waking me up and helping me realize that it isn't about me and my "stuff". Thank you for showing me that each day is a gift from you!
