"Thankful for Cheerios"

"I LOVE CHEERIOS?? NO!! BUT, I HAVE LEARNED

TO BE CONTENT!"

"I have learned to be content"...was racing through my mind as I rushed to get everyone fed for lunch. The baby was screaming loudly due to it being 45 minutes after her usual lunch time and big sis was hanging on my legs fussing and crying about the chaos..So...I am scrambling through the kitchen in what I call "the heat of the moment" and it seems like everything I touched spilled, broke, or fell in the floor (no kidding) CHAOS!! Oh, and did I mention I myself was hungry?? At one point, I actually considered joining the girls in the floor kicking and screaming... SO here I am in the kitchen... and all I can feel is HUNDREDS OF CHEERIOS crushing under my feet, and finding their way in between my toes! Ah! I literally wanted to scream! Kids crying, stomach growling, house destroyed, heart racing- needless to say it was an intense moment! Well...we survived and I finally got them fed and in bed for nap and I returned to the war zone to clean up the aftermath- I was washing dishes (mainly little pink sippy cups, bottles, purple bear plates and little yellow spoons- WHEN SUDDENLY IS STRUCK ME... "the longer I wait to clean these cheerios, the bigger the mess will be" (by this point I had crushed the cheerios in a thousand little peices...like sand!) SO, I decided to get out the quick vac and take care of the issue- and that is when this moment turned from a "frustrated duty" to a "grateful pleasure"- What do I mean? what changed? Did I somehow begin to enjoy the thousands of cheerios crunched on my floor and wedged in between my toes? Did I enjoy that I was using "my precious time" while the girls were napping- to clean up their mess?

NO! To be honest, I still do not enjoy millions of cheerios on the floor or 20 dirty pink sippy cups for that matter...BUT WHAT I DO ENJOY is having a kitchen full of my 2 babies. I enjoy watching sweet Charis run circles around the bar, I enjoy watching her give AK CHEERIOS to help her stop crying (even if it means she spills the whole box- bc that is what happened). I love watching AK learn to feed herself...I love being with my children...I love watching them learn and grow and discover new things. I love reading them books at naptime, and seeing their excitement when daddy walks in the door...I love being a mommy...

SO, my heart became still, quiet, if you will...And I thought to myself, "what will it be like when there's no cheerios to clean up, when there's no pink sippy cups to wash, and lunch time is quiet? WHen there's no laughing or babbling or crying? These moments, I don't want to wish it away or coach myself with thoughts like "it's only a season". No, I want to embrace every moment (challenges and all) as from the Lord's hand. I know His wisdom and plans are far above mine- and much greater...so, I will not just learn to be content...but I will rejoice! I will not wish for a quiet home or a clean floor... I will be thankful! I will rejoice that He has given me 2 precious children, I will rejoice that He has given me a husband who works hard to keep me home, I will be thankful for the grace to see past circumstances and to see His goodness..." Thank you God for crunched cheerios, and for dirty pink sippy cups...for that means that my little people have been here!"