Post Mother's Day Confessions

Mother's Day began with an electrical outage.

In the movies women wake up looking gorgeous. That's not my reality.

Determined to get my grandson and myself to church, I fumbled for my morning battle gear in the dark, windowless bathroom. 

             Toothbrush.
                           Face wash.
                                       Deodorant
                                                   Makeup. Lots of make-up.

No electricity equaled no curling iron. The front of my hair resembled an electrocuted sparrow; the back, a hairy brunette pancake.

I pictured our church family enjoying the gourmet Mother's Day breakfast while I ate cold leftover eggs from my grandson's plate.

Without electricity to lift the door, our garage became Alcatraz. I yanked the emergency release cord like a crazed prisoner attacking cell bars. The door remained as unmovable as a Cool Hand Luke prison guard.

My husband Jake, the go-to guy, was already at church serving the other mothers their breakfast feast.

Our normally helpful grandson Asher offered his observation, "Wow Grandma, you look kinda crazy."


                          Frustration Level: Rising

                          Mother Day Joy: Decreasing

What example would this granny set? 

A) Cry and kick the garage door down with my 3" spiked heels (my personal choice).
B) Use biblical wisdom.

. . . when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 2-3 NLT


God's Word put things in perspective. Besides, my situation was too puny even for the "light and momentary affliction" category.

I chose to thank God for His overflowing blessings throughout the rest of the day.
 

• My genteel British neighbor, a mom herself, used her martial arts muscles to free us from our garage.

• Friends at church tamed my Vampira make-up and hair.

• I spent time with my beautiful mother and daughter.

• The men at our church, Bible Truth Ministries designed a special Mother's Day service for us, and gave roses and hand-signed cards to each lady. 

• My grandson presented me with a special Mother's Day edification in front of our church family. 

• I spent time with my incredible husband who normally wouldn't let me lift a finger on Mother's Day.

That day I fought down the urge to whine, and continued thanking God while I mowed the lawn (what a blessing to have a lovely, grassy yard), grocery shopped, cooked dinner, and washed dishes (thank you Lord for money to buy food, a way to get it home, and electricity to cook it.)


Even though my Mother's Day provided definite growth opportunities, I felt blessed.
What do you do when your special days aren't so special?

If yours felt a bit rocky, try this encouragement. Ecclesiastes 3:4 (NLT) reminds us of,

A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance. 
 
Let's choose the laughter and dancing whenever possible. 

Message to laugh and dance endorsed by my superstar mother.