I am privileged to have my sweet friend Lindsay from noperfectmoms.com as a guest blogger today. If you are looking to be encouraged and challenged as a mom you MUST check out her blog. She is one of those godly woman who just loves life and it radiates from all that she does. I hope you are challenged like I was when I read this. Thank you Lindsay for your authenticity and truth, you are such a beautiful mommy and a blessing!
I. HATE. WEDNESDAYS. I don’t know what it is about this mid-week day, but almost every single Wednesday for the last 3 months, some sort of crisis/disaster/meltdown/trial happens. At first, I just thought I was imagining things, like when people always say Mondays are the worst. Are Mondays really that bad, or is it just a self-fulfilling prophecy that happens to come true every week because most of us spend the entire weekend sleeping in and acting like we don’t have to go back to the real world and dreading the work week ahead? My Wednesdays aren’t like this, though. There is legitimate spiritual warfare that happens on a whole new level on this day each week.
Like I mentioned, this strange phenomenon has been happening for the past 3 months, so you would think that, by now, I would have figured out how to handle it. Well, call me crazy/hard-headed/ignorant (trust me, they’re all things I’ve heard before), but I have approached each Wednesday like it was any other day, all the
while knowing the doomed relationship I have had with him for quite some time…that is, until this week. This week, I chose to show Wednesday who’s boss. Actually, I chose to show the devil who’s boss (because I do realize it’s not poor Wednesday’s fault). This week, I was prepared.
Proverbs 31:25 has one of the most beautiful pictures of trust I’ve ever read, written in such a clever way. “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Did you catch that? Part of being a woman of the Lord is to look at the days ahead and LAUGH at them, even though they may be days filled with pain, sorrow, hurts, and unknowns. When I look at my dreaded mid-week day, I am to trust that the Lord still holds that day in His hands and laugh with joy that my future is His. If knowing that my every breath is secure in Him doesn’t make me smile, then I don’t know what will!
As I woke up on “the day” this week, I was determined not to let the enemy win. I prayed that He would gain the glory from my day, and that even through the hard situations I would face, I would laugh. And boy, oh, boy, did I have a plethora of opportunities to giggle. First off, my darling husband got stopped for having a June tag sticker…even though it’s still June and his tag isn’t expired. The officer just wanted to warn him that it was close to expiring and needed to be taken care of immediately. Now, I’m a rule follower to the core, and I loathe getting in trouble, almost as much as I loathe Wednesdays. So, this little incident sent me into panic mode and made me want to stay inside and not drive anywhere until our tags were renewed. Instead of sulking, though, I laughed at the situation, packed up my kiddos, and went to have lunch with said darling husband at work. His day was made, and so was mine. And God got the glory because my boys saw that I value their daddy, and driving 45 minutes to serve him lunch is worth more than any irrational fear mommy has.
Laughter is the best medicine 🙂
Next up, my potty-training oldest boy asked to go potty every. five. minutes. I promise, I am not exaggerating with that number. Yes, this means that my training him has been successful, but it sure did make for a harried morning where almost nothing got done but feedings…nothing. Then, I spilled the baby’s milk and dropped my breakfast on the floor and yelled at my toddler for throwing a ball at my head (not a proud moment…but a real one). In all of these moments, praise the Lord, Proverbs 31:25 popped into my head, and I was reminded who holds my future…and I laughed (sometimes to keep from crying). And do you know what I learned from this day full of snickering? Trusting in the Lord always, always, always leads to joy. Psalm 28:7 says it perfectly: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” I hope that women everywhere will learn to put their trust in Him, for it is in that trusting where we will find joy and will be able to spend our lives laughing at the days to come.
