Today

Last night before I went to bed, I organized a lot of my photographs, got them into frames and put them up around the house.  In the process, I discovered a pack of markers, so I hid them in a place I figured the kids would never look.

By the time I woke up this morning, there was marker scrawled all over one wall and my planner -- someone had found the package I so carefully hid.  And by 10 a.m., one of my newly-framed pictures had been knocked down, and there was broken glass all over the floor. 

It was just one of "those" days....

-- a spilled cup of milk
-- muddy boys traipsing through the house
-- a spilled cup of water
-- the contents of the dustbuster dumped all over the floor
-- another spilled cup of water
-- discovering that, yet again, the kids have been using a soap pump filled with water to wash their hands all day
-- a 2-year old that needed to be disciplined, without exaggeration, 23 times
-- a failed art project attempt
-- 2 boys throwing tantrums at once
-- another spilled cup of milk
-- a broken game-piece from a game we borrowed from a friend
-- a husband gone all day and night, except for 45 minutes at dinner time
-- another cup of spilled water
-- and a child who will not stay in his crib tonight  (he's gotten out 6 times and counting as I type this... screams like crazy when he's disciplined each time... then does it again 5 minutes later)

And, to top it all off, we have a heartbroken girl tonight because we missed her very first dance class, due to the fact that I wrote the wrong time on my calendar.  This is the girl who has wanted to live in her new leotard all week (even wore it to bed) and could not wait for the class to start and does not understand how the class could not be ready for her since she was all ready for it....  Major tears and drama this evening.

There have been some highlights to today, too...  a fun new class with friends this morning; a friend who heard my frustration about teaching a math concept and went home and made a game for us to play by this evening!;  seeing my children clean up after and help each other;  hearing my kids pray for other people; etc., etc...

But overall, it's been a wearying day.  And now there are 2 children downstairs, out of bed.  I'll be right back.

Because I am weak and immature in my faith, I have to admit that some of these circumstances stole some joy from me today.  But, at the end of the day (now), I can still find "the joy in the depths" -- the joy based not on my circumstances, but on my circum-circumstances. 

At the end of the day, I know that the One who orchestrates all of my circumstances does it for my good.  Rough edges must be getting smoothed in all this, right?