"Be joyful always. Pray continuously."
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-17
For me, there are some moments when joy is elusive.
Like when...
~Double temper-tantrums and a poopy cut short our trip to the Children's Museum.
~A second poopy required more wipes than I had---and little fingers ended up in the dirty diaper.
~The toilet overflowed, pouring poopy water all over the floor, requiring a whole roll of paper towels to mop it up. Are you noticing a theme here?
~The after-lunch cake-treat ended up showering the floor with crumbs---right after I had finished scrubbing, sweeping and vacuuming all the floors in the house.
~Yet another poopy, this time soaking through pants while at the park.
~Yet another poopy, this time soaking through pants while at the park.
~A Bear woke from his nap on the wrong side of the crib---and cried for 30 minutes straight.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of moments at the hospital when my joy is elusive too. Maybe more. But lest I belabor the point....
There are advantages to heeding the encouraging verse above--benefits to choosing joyful happiness in all moments, even the most challenging ones. Because here is what I would have missed if I had let my attitude be clouded by irritation and melancholy:
~Two Bears, tears forgotten, singing songs together in the back seat on our premature trip home from the museum.
~Returning from the foiled diaper change to our special mid-day lunch outing with T--who was home for the afternoon.
~The sweet smell of a fragrant, freshly scrubbed bathroom. It needed a good cleaning anyway.
~The smiles, delighted faces and sticky fingers of happy, cake-filled munchkins.
~"Silly swinging" with G-Bear on our tummies (after changing E-Bear's diaper at the park).
There are advantages to heeding the encouraging verse above--benefits to choosing joyful happiness in all moments, even the most challenging ones. Because here is what I would have missed if I had let my attitude be clouded by irritation and melancholy:
~Two Bears, tears forgotten, singing songs together in the back seat on our premature trip home from the museum.
~Returning from the foiled diaper change to our special mid-day lunch outing with T--who was home for the afternoon.
~The sweet smell of a fragrant, freshly scrubbed bathroom. It needed a good cleaning anyway.
~The smiles, delighted faces and sticky fingers of happy, cake-filled munchkins.
~"Silly swinging" with G-Bear on our tummies (after changing E-Bear's diaper at the park).
~Penitent E-Bear, bringing me a book and cuddling up on my lap to read together. Just needing a snuggle....
These moments are too precious to be lost in the distraction of irritation!
Lord, help me keep my joy,
always,
every moment of the day.
I know the challenges aren't going away, so you better believe I will be praying continuously.
Oh Queen B... I feel your pain. Some days are just downright poopy! :) I once joked with GG about the sheer volume of fecal matter I had encountered one week. Sounds like you've had the same! I can't imagine adding onto that all the junk you see as a physician. You are incredible!! Good to write it down for reflection later on... when you're having a much cleaner existence!! These are the days! :)
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