Life can be overwhelming at times. And our has seemed to have plenty of days when survival is a success in our books. It’s not necessarily one overwhelmingly, big thing. It is more like the cumulative effect of a million little things.
Take some of our kids. We have a few who are the dictionary definition of mischievous. Of course every child has a bit of this in them. But we are talking about months of mischievous behavior that can leave us exhausted both physically, but especially emotionally. What do we mean by mischievous? Things keep happening that they know aren’t supposed to occur and that we have sought to take measures against, but that they still keep finding ways to do. Our garden hose keeps getting turned on and left on despite removing all the attachments so that it cannot actually be used…but it does slowly drip a bit until we notice it was left on…again…not to mention the night Luke returned late to discover it was disassembled and undone.
The shower is another crime scene. We have removed the spray nozzle from the shower and the nearby bathtub because water was getting sprayed all over the bathroom despite us trying to talk about this, clearly explain the rules, and ask them to not use the nozzle. Despite the nozzles being removed completely, water is still getting into the bathtub (which is not being used). Body wash has been disappearing at an extremely rapid rate. Our attempt at a solution? Use a pump bottle so that the cap would remain on, closed, and not dumped all over the floor. The mischievous counter play? Take the pump top off and dump it sideways in the bathtub right after it was refilled. Floor mats have been laid and instructed to be kept down to keep the water in the bathroom. Towels need to be kept in the bathroom to avoid being left on the wood floor (despite repeated requests). Despite that, we go up to discover water coming out of the bathroom onto the wood floors, with soaking wet towels used to mop some of it up and then left, naturally, on the wood floor.
We know these are minor things that happen in households around the globe. And normally they are frustrations that we try to resolve, protect against, and patiently use to teach. However, some days we are just barely getting by…and it just seems to be more than a bit over the top.
Some days you just get by. Making it to the end of the day with everyone alive and our sanity very barely intact can seem like a success…or perhaps a survival tactic.
But, one of the interesting features of barely making it to the end of the day m, gives us an opportunity to see how God grants new mercies each day. That promise has new meanings for us. Some days His mercies are overflowing and we navigate the challenges they way we would love to. Other days His mercies are sufficient for us to barely get to the end…and it doesn’t look pretty…and we aren’t always in our best form…but nevertheless, His mercies are evident and for that, we are incredibly grateful. Because some days you just get by…but all days it is by the mercies of God which are new each day.
Halfway Around the Globe 