One of "Those Days"

Busy. Life is busy.  I am busy.  We are busy.  Last Tuesday was no exception.  In organized fashion, I had a to-do list in chronological order ready for the day and all lunches packed the night before.  The first 3 hours of the day went as planned – 7 people out of bed, fed, dressed, and ready for the day.  Lauren (my four-year old) and I punctually dropped off the other four kids at school by 8:20, and we were ready to continue on through the task list. On our way home, we rehearsed the order of events upon arrival at home – start laundry, get out the bread machines to start the process of making pepperoni rolls, etc… and then construction barrels started getting closer to us as the lane we were in was being eliminated.  I slowed down to merge into the traffic in the next lane, when the driver behind us, who didn’t see brake lights, rear-ended us.  No one in the collision was injured, but I instantly knew my plan for the day was in shambles.  Waiting for police to arrive and then process all the paperwork in a non-emergency incident is not an efficient process. Sigh.

After working through that process, we finally arrived home and jumped into action - it was definitely a time crunch.  We needed to leave for school by noon in order to bring the promised pepperoni rolls to senior lunch in celebration of Samantha’s birthday.  While waiting for the bread machines to work their magic on the bread dough, I got word of a medical paperwork problem that needed to be sorted out ASAP.  And how could a situation including the state, paperwork, and a doctor’s office be anything but fast?  (Insert make phone calls in task list.) After working through my paperwork complication and calling to file an auto claim with our insurance company, Lauren and I were in super-fast mode to get 5 dozen pepperoni rolls assembled and baked.  While I divided the dough into rolls, Lauren placed the pepperoni slices followed by cheese on each roll.  As we quickly worked toward our fast-approaching deadline, Lauren said, “Mom, it’s going to be ok.  I just prayed and asked God to help us get to school by lunch time.”  My hands stopped working, while my eyes rose to look at Lauren.  My heart sank and then soared.  I was so driven to accomplish my time sensitive goals that I failed to do exactly what was needed and yet my four-year old perceived a need that God could meet and in simple faith asked Him to do just that.  I was rebuked, but encouraged – rebuked for my lack of faith, and yet encouraged by her simple faith.

We made it to school in time for lunch, and the seniors (mostly the guys) devoured the pepperoni rolls.  Lauren and I came home and continued our way through our task list.  The rest of the day continued to be "one of those days" but with fresh perspective.  Maybe the next time I'm ready to  push "do over" on a day, I'll remember on my own to take it to the Lord in prayer.

for the Sisterhood