Joy in the Chaos

“I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

As a mom of two precious but busy boys, it’s so easy to get caught up in day to day, sometimes referred to as the “nasty now and now.” Juggling nap schedules, snack/nursing and endless diaper changes, until before I realize it, the day is over. Okay, that’s not true. A lot of days truly drag by. But you get the idea. How often I feel like I’m just hanging on, just surviving this busy season, but then I realize I’ve missed out on enjoying it or doing anything truly meaningful. This verse came as a fresh encouragement during a drought of motherhood monotony. I had been wondering how I could enjoy this stage, replete with extreme sleep deprivation, toddler tantrums and too many tears. But this was the key. It is so easy to feel like fainting when focused on all the hard things that accompany this stage. But faith looks beyond this to see the goodness of the Lord! Maybe I can’t rejoice in anything about my day, but I can start by focusing beyond and praising Him! I can start looking for His goodness in my life, in my day. And before I know it, I will start seeing all those precious moments I somehow missed before. I will be able to be the present and joyful mom I long to be, and as I enjoy my kids, their behaviours often modify as well. Of course, this won’t eliminate all tears and all hardships. So often the solution lies not in changing your circumstance, but in changing your attitude. And suddenly, those hard times will seem just that much easier, sweetened by enjoying each other and seeing the goodness of the Lord in the daily moments.