I’ve been having some of those days lately. The days when nothing goes right, no one listens, the crumbs multiply by the second, the car breaks down on the interstate, the dog fakes sick just long enough for a $100 vet trip with three kids then miraculously recovers- you know, those days. And let me tell you, I struggle on those days. I try to remind myself to be positive, but it doesn’t always work. I try reminding myself of Bible passages, but that usually doesn’t go well.

Bible: count your blessings

Me: I don’t want to count anything- butts I’ve wiped today, number of times I asked them to pick up the same toys, number of snacks they’ve had since I started cooking dinner- nothing. No counting.

Bible: If God clothes the flowers so beautifully, won’t he also clothe you?

Me: yeah, but He didn’t say who would wash all these clothes.

Bible: If God feeds the birds of the air, won’t He feed you?

Me: is He sending someone to cook?!

Bible: God will fight for you, if you will just be still.

Me: If I’m still, these three tiny human tornadoes will tear down my house.

Then I stop and thank God for my sense of humor so that I can laugh at it all (mostly to not cry), and I keep going.

I am reminded that God is my Heavenly Father, and just like I’m raising three Tasmanian devils, He’s still raising me. They might not always like their chores,and I might not always like mine. But, just like the clean up is worth the play to them, so the bad days are worth the good for me.

So when my bunch makes me use the batman voice to get their attention, I try to remember the sweet little voice that said a “thank you for my Jesus” prayer on the way to school that morning. I try to remember that just as work is a good tool to teach my children, so it is a good tool to teach me. And just as my goal is to grow my tiny men into good adults, so is God’s goal to grow me into a better person each day. We are all children of God. Always growing.