I was trying to get ready to leave on a trip with my husband. We were finally completely packed and ready to go… all I had left to do was put the kids to bed so we could wake up bright and early the next morning and head out….Then I remembered how I meant to fertilize all the plants and quickly spray down our fruit trees before we left. So, we all went outside… Fertilizer went well but, when I went to put the fruit tree spray in the hose attachment to do the trees, I discovered that there were two rather large cracks in the bottom of the container. Oil based bug spray concentrate was pouring everywhere!!!
Commence parental freakout!
“Who broke the hose attachment?”
“Everybody back up!!!” “Go inside!!!!”
“I wanna see!!!” “I wanna touch!!!!”
“What’s that awful smell?!?!”
“What do I do???”
“Ahg! It’s spreading! Ahg! My patio! Ahg! My kids! The table! Quick! Bring the hose….”
This was after I cleaned up…. Didn’t have the wherewithal to think of taking a picture during the mess. Oops…
Spray and scrub patio for an hour without results. Bathe kiddos. Bathe myself. Start feeling sick. Call poison control – “Oh, Shower again? – What!? It was supposed to be cold? Maybe I need to go to the doctor for over exposure??? Wait. DON’T use water on spilled pesticide??? (What have I done?????) Now it’s 1am and I have to drive 6 hours tomorrow …. the kids will be up in 5 hours. Feel like I’m going to puke… What if I have to go to the doctor? What if I can never send my kids to play outside again because there is pesticide concentrate now spread all over the patio in the backyard? I do NOT have TIME for this!!!!
Yes, true story of my last Thursday night…
Sadly enough, I’m pretty sure that “I don’t have time for this” is what my kids would remember me for saying if I died today…
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I “don’t have time” to clean up another mess! I “don’t have time” to push you on the swing for the 15th time today. I “don’t have time” to watch you spread blankets on the floor and jump over the “lava”. I “don’t have time” to help you fold more paper airplanes. I “don’t have time” to make you a fort. I “don’t have time” to watch sports with the man who loves me. I “don’t have time” to take care of myself. I don’t have timeee…..
This latest extreme experience has made me ask myself, “What exactly, then, do I have time for???” All those little things make up a life! All those things are how I, how all of us, are meant to learn and grow. All those things are how we learn, teach and show love. What could be more important than that?
If I would only take the time to watch my kids play, and play with them, they wouldn’t question whether or not I actually enjoy being with them.
If I could stop worrying about the time it takes to recover from mistakes and little disasters (like my patio escapade), I could use that time to learn from the experience, to learn little, practical things about life.
If I would only take the time to think before I react, I would be more patient, more hopeful, and more kind.
God gives us all these little moments to realize that He is in control, to realize that there is no problem too great. He gives us all these opportunities to grow in love and to be that person we are all meant to be.
And, isn’t that what we want?
Share your stories of God’s teachable moments in your life below….
Also, read:
#Togetherinthetrenches #ParticularlyCALLED
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