Mom's In Need of Mercy

Today was one of those days. You know, the kind that have you thinking about leaving your children with someone you trust and going somewhere by yourself for a few days hours. Ever had one of those?

First thing this morning, trying to cook pancakes, the smoke detector repeatedly kept sounding, thanks to the teeny bit of hot oil on my griddle. (It is a very sensitive detector, which is probably good but very annoying). My husband whacked it, breaking a ceiling tile in the process (he fixed it tonight; thanks honey!). After breakfast, I sent my boys up to get dressed. My oldest came down and told me that my middle son had managed to break the shower door. It was hanging precariously in the first place; when I got upstairs to inspect the damage, sure enough, there was a shower door on the floor.

Hoping to redeem the day, I took my crying baby who has a cold and is getting his one-year molars up for his morning nap. I came down to find granola poured all over the kitchen floor, with the boys--and their stuffed animal puppies--trying to eat it up. Turns out they were trying to "feed" their pets. Yeah.

They got into more mischief in the garage while I was taking a few minutes to read some Scripture to help me through the day. Once in the house, my oldest plugged up the toilet, which overflowed. He tried to wipe it all up with our nice, clean washcloths, and promptly shut the door, without telling me (I will admit I was not in a very good mood by this point anyway).

On a day like this, I thank God for the gift of His mercy and a new day full of opportunities tomorrow (for good and not for mischief, I hope!). When I most needed some encouragement, I read this:

"You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered." (Psalm 139: 16,17).

 God already knew everything that would happen today before it ever even happened. It was not spinning out-of-control, as it felt like to me. It was completely in His sovereign control. Even though I became discouraged by what was happening around me, God's thoughts toward me--and my sons--are still precious. So precious they cannot be numbered.

At lunch, I received a Christmas card from a friend that simply said "Joy in the Journey."

That is my prayer; perhaps it is your's too--that God's mercy and grace will help us to find joy in the journey. Every moment of every day!