"It's raining it's storming the bulldog is
snoring. The toddler's ill, mom wants time to sit still, and the day has been
far from boring!"
This cheesy little rhyme I wrote (and kinda stole from Mother Goose) pretty much sums up this stormy Monday in
the Wright home. It's been quite the day, but really aren't all Mondays? At the end of this long stormy Monday spent wrangling a toddler and her pup, God taught me a couple things through a young girl named Mary. Before I get to that, I'll share a little of today's escapades with Rylee and Bo.
The first half was a typical Monday for us. I
go to Zumba, my mother-in-law visits and we eat
lunch, and then cue the naps. Since it was stormy and I'm miraculously caught up on most of the housework, I planned to also enjoy a little nap. Any other mom feel like your child knows when you plan to nap too? It's like they can sense it. So here's how nap time went.
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| There was no napping. Rylee and I watched Tangled on my bed because she refused to nap. In her defense she has an ear infection and was feeling pretty terrible at this point. |
After watching about half of Tangled we went to check on Bo. (Please know we have watched half of Tangled like a million
times. I really need to start where we left off next time. Surely she makes it
to see the lanterns?!) Bo was the lucky one today, he took a nap. He actually had all ready had one maybe even two other naps before this one. He really is
quit possibly the most lazy and spoiled bulldog pup in the world. I mean look
at this guy!
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| He has claimed Rylee's teething pacifier. It's fine since she doesn't really like it. Now her real pacifier, you dare not come between her and "pachi" |
Remember that I said it's a rainy Monday? By the
time "nap" time was over it had turned into a stormy Monday just in time to take out Bo, who is apparently petrified of the wet stuff falling from the sky. I went
out and held an umbrella over our high maintenance pup while he did his business. Meanwhile the toddler who
refused her nap stood screaming watching from the kitchen door because I wouldn't let her go out in the monsoon. The afternoon was basically filled with attempting to get Bo to do his business outside, toddler meltdowns due to no nap and an ear infection, and the occasional cute moment of playing together like this.
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| She actually ended up snatching his toy. Sharing is just so hard. |
Five o'clock rolls around and my husband
comes downstairs from work (YES, help! And, of course, I love getting to see
him at the end of the day. 😊 ) Rylee was basically running on fumes at
this point and getting increasingly tired and irritable. As much as I want to say she was driving me crazy, I
feel pretty bad for her. No nap, hurting ears, and being stuck inside all day
isn't exactly fun for her. She
basically spent from after dinner to bedtime trying to go "night
night" as she kept telling me.
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| She's just ridiculously tired at this point. Meanwhile, Bo was taking another nap. |
So what do you do to make it to bedtime when
it's been raining all day, it's still storming, and everyone is exhausted? You
turn on Tangled and see if Rapunzel makes it to see those lanterns of
course!
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| Thank you Tangled for getting us to the end of the day! |
So we made it. We survived a stormy Monday and
we got to see Rapunzel get her happily ever after. At the end of each day in December we are following an Advent Bible verse countdown plan a friend shared with me. (Each verse is tucked inside
these mini countdown stockings from Target. And
just to make it a little fun each stocking also contains a chocolate treat.) I almost forgot to do today and then contemplated putting it off because it was just "one of those days", but I'm so thankful we did it!
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| There is a free Advent Bible verse printable here |
Right
there from the little verse tucked into Rylee's Advent stocking, Mary blew me
away. For some context go read Luke 1:26-38. The angel had just dropped a lot on
this young, betrothed, virgin girl. I am honestly not sure what my response
would have been. I pray that it would have been the same as Mary, "I am the Lord's
servant. Let this thing you have said happen to me!" The question that
immediately came to my mind tonight is, "is this my daily response to the
Lord?" Do I always view myself as His servant? Or when it's been a long
rainy day of toddler shenanigans, do I want to complain and be selfish with my
time? (Come on Amanda, there are people around the world dealing with far worse things.) Do I tend to want to seek ways to serve myself instead of following
Jesus' example to serve those around me? When I know God is calling me to
something a little scary or uncomfortable, do I hide behind filling my day with
other good things that I deem more safe or comfortable? I think there is so
much we can learn from Mary, but tonight here are two things that stuck out to me:
1) Remember WHO it is we are serving as
followers of Christ. I imagine it was a lot easier for Mary to be open
handed because she knew Who it was she was serving. She wasn't relying on her
own strength to get through this. Fellow moms, and really most of us in general, we are so bad about trying to get by on our own strength! This is not the example we see from Mary. She was looking to the One she goes on to
praise in Luke 1:46-55. She was looking to her Savior, the
Mighty One who had done great things for her, and who is merciful
and sovereign.
2) Trust and obedience to the Lord leads to joy in Him. "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." I sing these words to Rylee just about every night. We can see this truth in Mary's story. She trusted God in acknowledging herself as His servant, she obeyed Him by submitting herself to His will, and that lead her to joyfully worship Him.
It's been a long day, but as it comes to a close I find myself thankful. I am thankful that even when I'm distracted and tired God speaks. I am thankful that even though I fall so short, He shows me mercy and grace through Jesus. I pray that He helps me to daily respond as Mary, "I am the Lord's servant. Let this thing you have said happen to me!"
Also, rocking and snuggling this little bug wasn't such a terrible ending to the day!
