Take What You Get

It's been one of those weeks around here. You know the kind I'm talking about - too much work, not enough sleep, sick kids, extra laundry (thanks to the sick kids), mud and dirt constantly tracked in the house (thanks to ongoing landscaping), presidential debate bumping my Tuesday night television shows. Serious stuff friends.

The point in all of that is that I'm tired. Dog tired. So tonight, when I was getting the girls ready for bed, I was not happy to find that Julia's hair was a huge mess of tangles. (If you've not seen this child in person then you may not know that she has a LOT of hair.)

I had neatly braided her hair this morning before school, but at some point in the afternoon she decided to change clothes and take out her braids. Then she decided to make a "club house" using all of my nice throw pillows and decorative blankets. Then she put my basket of Pier 1 looking potpourri in her club house so everything would be pretty while she ate some yogurt which she sneaked out of the refrigerator. (Where was I? I was trying to teach piano lessons. Thanks for asking.)

Back to tonight and the tangly hair. I asked, "Julia, what in the world is in your hair???"

She looked at me in the mirror and said, "Yogurt," in a sing song voice.

"When did you eat yogurt?" I wanted to know.

"Earlier, in my club house."

"Hmmm...." There was silence for a minute or two as I desperately tried to fix her mess of hair. I was so tired and wanting to go to bed (refer to the first paragraph) and finally asked her, "Is this fun?"

"Not for me," she answered.

"Do you think it's fun for me???"

"Well, you wanted to be a mommy so you got disobedient kids. Take what you get and you don't throw a fit!" She was giggling by now.

So was I.

I guess as a parent there are lots of times that we just need to "take what we get and not throw a fit". Or better yet, maybe I should practice 1 Thessalonians 5:18....

"No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

Thank you, Jesus, for my mischievous little monkeys. They are precious in Your sight at all times. Help me remember to see them through Your eyes - even when they're covered in crusty yogurt.