It was supposed to be a relaxing day at the library. Instead, it turned into a stressful disaster. We walked into the library, and I thought my children would immediately sit down quietly and listen intently to the story. That obviously did not happen.
My one year old daughter wanted to walk all around the library and inspect the books on the shelves by pulling them all down. My 2 year old son did not want to sit down for the story and instead was fixated on playing with legos. Every attempt to get him engaged in the activity by the librarian was met with a glare and a resounding “No, I don’t want to.”
Then when it was time to go, I tried to prepare ahead of time by telling my son we would be leaving soon. I even brought snacks (fruit snacks are great for bribery). Yet when it was time to leave, he still had a complete meltdown and in the midst of all the chaos he managed to run out the front doors of the library.
In a panic I raced outside to follow him and barely caught him before he ran into the parking lot (I will never understand why children are so intent on putting themselves in dangerous situations). Needless to say, our trip to the library did not go as I had hoped.
As a mother, I’m learning more and more that things rarely go according to plan. This is difficult for me as I always like to have a plan and stick to the plan. That does not work with kids. They do not care if you have a plan. Personally, I think it best to not really have a plan but to have a bunch of back-up plans.
Small piece of advice. Always. And I mean ALWAYS have an extra outfit packed and more diapers than you think you need. There’s nothing worse than not having an extra outfit after your little one has a massive blowout or rushing to buy a small overpriced pack of diapers from a gas station because you didn’t pack enough diapers. True story.
Although my day at the library did not go how I would have hoped. My son absolutely loved his time there and begs to go back every time we drive past it. The library is now one of his favorite places. While it may have been stressful for me, it brought them joy and that is really all that matters.
It’s easy to focus so much on the chaos and stress of situations that we miss the small moments of joy that were given to us. Looking back, I realized that there were small moments of joy at the library that I forgot about because of the chaos.
Moments where I got to see my daughter exploring and discovering the wonderful world of books around her. Moments where I saw my shy son interact with another girl his age peacefully working on a puzzle together. I’ve discovered as a mother that seeing my children experience joy brings me joy.
I can never get these moments back. And as they grow up, I want to learn to cherish every moment with them even more.
It’s so important to enjoy the small moments and realize that they are actually the big ones.
To truly enjoy the small moments you have to learn to be thankful. In those chaotic moments, it is not easy to be thankful.
The Bible says in Psalm 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.”
We receive blessings from God every single day. One of the reasons we sometimes miss these blessings is because we are so caught up with what we do not have. The things we think will bring us happiness. No amount of money, cars, houses or things will bring you the happiness that you’re seeking. They may temporarily make you happy, but it will not last and you’ll never have enough. That is because the temporal things of this world were never meant to satisfy us.
Hebrews 13:5 says “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Philippians 4:11 says “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
According to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary content means “quiet; not disturbed; having a mind at peace; easy; satisfied, so as not to repine, object, or oppose.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a mind at peace? Sometimes we struggle with peace because we are fixated on our plans. We can become so focused on constantly planning and trying to make our lives better that we miss the plans God has for us simply because it isn’t our plan.
Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
God’s plans are always better than our plans. He realizes what we need more than we do.
I want to encourage you to stop what you’re doing, breathe and think of all the things God has done for you. Think of His mercy, His kindness, His unconditional love. Thank Him for all that He’s given you, but more importantly thank God for who He is. Because He is worthy of all our praise.
I love the quote from Amy Carmichael where she says “One so soon clings to the gift instead of only to the Giver.”
Does our thankfulness end when it feels like the gifts aren’t there anymore? Do you believe God when He says that He loads us with benefits everyday? If you feel overwhelmed by your circumstances and find it difficult to be thankful, remember that it’s not the gifts that we hold on to.
The Bible says in Lamentations 3:22-23 “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
If you cannot think of anything to be thankful for, remember that His mercies and compassions are new every morning. That alone is plenty to be thankful for. The more we recognize how small we are and how much we need God’s mercy and compassion every single day, the more thankful we will become.
My day at the library did not go as planned, but I can still find things to be thankful for. Don’t let the chaos of the moment take away your joy. Learn to enjoy the small things and be content with what you have.
When you find yourself overwhelmed in the chaotic moments, it’s the joy of the Lord that will give you the strength you need to keep going.
Nehemiah 8:10 “…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
We, as mamas, need so much strength. Not just physical strength although that is important. We need our hearts to be strengthened and no one can do that other than God.
Psalm 31:24 “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.”
Be thankful. Learn contentment. Be of good courage. It is possible to find joy in the chaos.