The past week I found myself going down a negative trail. I got stuck there for a weekend and then the Lord snapped me out of it on Monday morning. I started thinking about all of the "hard" in my life. Please don't compare my hard to your hard. I don't have a baby getting up in the middle of the night, I don't homeschool, and I don't work outside of the home all of which I think are really hard. I have had harder seasons and I know that it is likely that I will have harder seasons in my future. The truth of the matter is that we all have some hard stuff going on in our lives, don't we?
My hard consists of the crazy schedule of getting four boys off to school in the morning: four lunches packed, breakfast served, hubby served, dog dealt with, squabbles between siblings dealt with, and time with the Lord so I don't bite someone's head off before 8:00 am.
Then there is the serving outside of the home, volunteering in my children's classes, and keeping up the house. I can't ever seem to get on top of my kitchen. It's constantly messy. ( I actually had to clear the mess out of the way to get the picture for this post.) Laundry....don't get me started. Clean bathrooms. You know when you have four boys you have to clean the bathrooms at least three times a week. Then there are groceries to gather for these growing boys. I think almost all of our money goes to feed these boys.
Then there is the after school. It's like a marathon after school. Can you relate? From three in the afternoon until bedtime I better have my game face on. You know the drill...homework galore, a few more squabbles, dinner, activities, bedtime routines, etc. By nine o'clock, I am exhausted.
So that leads to another hard...it's hard connecting with my hubby in this season of life. We are both trying to find creative ways to connect. We are both working hard and by the time we get the boys in bed, we are ready for bed. We are trying to be creative to find ways to connect and to have fun.
So there is a glimpse of my hard. It doesn't sound that bad. But this past weekend I was consumed by it. I was down. Then I spent some time with the Lord on Monday morning. I read the verse Philippians 4:8 and looked at several translations. I love how the Living Bible says it "Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine good things in others." What stuck out to me is that I need to FIX my thoughts on that which is positive. I need to DWELL on that which is positive. I had allowed my mind to be filled with the negative the past week. It's okay to acknowledge the negative but I need to DWELL on the positive. There are so many positives in my life but I have to remind myself daily to look for them. I am so thankful for my boys and my hubby, I am so thankful for this crazy busy season, I am so thankful I can stay at home, I am so thankful I can serve my family and others, I am so thankful I have good friends and the list goes on.
So if you have found yourself being consumed with negativity lately, I am very sorry. It's not a fun place to be. Begin dwelling on the positive and ask God to help you see the positive all around you.
Lastly, in our hard, we may have some control over things that need to change. In my case it might be my schedule. So just keep this in mind too! Talk to the Lord about it. Hugs to all of you.
