Restored

Yesterday escaped by the skin of its teeth. It was one of those days that seemed to attract calamity. By 10 am I had one child sitting on her bed, one on the couch, and one confined to his crib. And me? I was pouring over Psalms 23-26, my daily reading, trying to find some calm amid the storm. You don't want to hear my long list of "what went wrong," but let me just say that it started with the baby getting smacked in the face with a fly swatter and ended with my wonderful partner in this family getting home well after everyone was in bed. In between all that my list also included 2 different chilled diet Cokes spilled before I took a sip. Calamity, I tell you.


At one point I hypothetically asked, "Are you guys just naughtier today or am I more impatient?"


Emma replied, "You are more impatient.... and grumpy." Leave it to a first born female to point out what is wrong in a situation.


Time for another mommy time out. In my Bible reading, I read through the "Lord is my Shepherd" passage of Psalm 23.

 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

 he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

 ......

Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

That bit of Scripture couldn't help but encourage me... "He restores my soul." How I longed for that tranquility! The entire description speaks of an extravagance far from reality. Reminded me of my 5 diamond experience at the Grand Velas last Fall. I came up with my own paraphrase regarding the all-inclusive resort:

The LORD is my very own concierge, I shall not be in want for anything from Diet Coke to a pillow menu.

He turns down my feather bed and turns on the AC.

He brings me food service beside the endless pool in my private cabana.

He restores my soul.

(my very own paraphrase).

The problem arose when I tried to bring that extravagance home. Real life doesn't feel like a resort. Not even a little. Real life is toddler-fly-swatting-the-baby-bossy-big-sister-teething-baby-no-one-napping-toilet-plugged-husband-farming-all-the-live-long-day-and-night craziness.

It was as I read on that I began to make a correlation between the peaceful bliss of chapter 23 and the barely controlled chaos that I was dealing with at that moment. Psalm 24 speaks of God's almighty power. Psalm 25 is asking for God's guidance... "Show me your ways, O LORD." And then there was chapter 26 verse 2-3: "Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth."

Yesterday as I read, I could feel the Almighty looking down on all the enforced time-outs in my home and I felt near to Him. Not "cabana at a resort" near to Him, but "water stop along a marathon route" near to Him. Encouraged and refreshed I kept going. It was swimming lessons next, a rushed lunch that no one liked, naps, swimming and playing in the yard, fighting children who forgot how to be kind, laundry, the baby's diaper rash irritations, dinner without daddy, homemade ice cream that took forever, baths, and bedtime with goodnight thankful prayers.

I realized there will be moments of bliss (this wasn't one of them) when I lie beside still waters. And there will also be testing. The testing is a good thing, according to these verses. "Test me and try me, examine my heart and my mind." God provides the strength and will restore my soul as needed. 

Now for today...