A crappy day and a sweet prayer....

 If you know me, or have glanced at my profile, you can probably guess that one of the ways the Lord often mercifully refines me is through parenting. Having 6 boys gives lots of opportunities for the Lord to reveal the ways I need to change, improve, or repent. It's amazing to me how quickly dealing with your children will humble you. I currently have one that is getting ready to marry, one that is a junior and working hard, one that is very involved with a local theater group and is facing some health issues, one that is in that early teen stage of wanting to grow up too fast, one that is struggling with the pre-teen stage of learning how to fit in as well as fighting learning difficulties, and the baby who just knows it all and is carefree and loves to tell us all what to do and how to do it. Believe me when I say the Lord is working overtime on me!!! :)

I have the tendency to get very snippy and irritable when things don't go as planned and therefore the day becomes quite stressful. The other day things were especially stressful. I had dealt with a migraine and had to take my meds that messed up how I was able to function on a very busy day where much needed to be accomplished. My husband and the boys had to operate without me for most of the day. That frustration seeped into my attitude and I was quite irritable, to put it nicely, One of my boys pulled me aside, gave me hug, and prayed over me. 

I have so many days where I wonder why God entrusted me with these 6 souls to raise to be men. I can let the fear for how all my failures will impact who they will become overwhelm me if take my eyes off Christ for just a second. Then God blesses me with a moment like this to show me He really is in control and working in their lives. He uses moments like this  to convict me, encourage me, and teach me. My son saw my struggle and knew I needed to rely on Jesus. He pulled me aside and reminded me of that. He lovingly took me to the Father. What an amazing time of refinement. You see, I would have much rather had the day go as planned. I would have loved to not have to deal with a horrible migraine and the affects of meds. I would have chosen to skip that struggle. However, I would have missed that sweet blessing! My son would have missed the opportunity to minister to me. What a beautiful mercy from the lord that day turned out to be.

I wish I could tell you that that sweet prayer instantly changed my circumstances and all was just peachy from that moment on. It didn't, the struggle was still there. I was not able to fully comprehend what a sweet mercy and blessing that was until later. Isn't that the way it usually goes? We can't always see how the Lord in working in the moment. It is often later, when we reflect back on these times, that we are able to grasp just a glimpse of what He may be doing. Even those glimpses may not present the whole picture! I am sure He is doing so much more than we can imagine. How amazing is His grace!

I pray we are quick to see these glimpses of grace and mercy in our days full of mundane tasks, stressful circumstances, and messed up plans. The days are long, but the years are short. Parenting is so hard. May we rely on Christ to carry us through these short years. May the refining fires of motherhood make us more like Christ. May we never underestimate the way He is working in and through us each and every day.

Grace and Peace ~ Jeanette