Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't get stuck in the muck!

Some days it's like a mantra, repeating itself all day long in my mind. 

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

Don't Get Stuck in the Muck!

It's so easy to find myself there, stuck in the muck that is sure to be there in this fallen world. It's easy to suddenly slip in without quite realizing how I get there. 

And what it this muck in which I do not want to be stuck? It's mostly little things - the temper tantrums of a two year old, the socks that apparently no one but me can pick up, the endless parade of dirty dishes, runny noses, dirty diapers, and skinned knees, the fatigue from a night of very interrupted sleep (I tend to lose count after about 8 interruptions, but some nights there are more although they are much less frequent than they used to be), deadlines, and oh yeah, don't forget the laundry or someone is not going to have clean jeans for tomorrow. Then there are the days when the muck seems a little worse - the vet calls to tell me my daughter's beloved cat has cancer and there's really nothing they can do about it, the basement floods after a few rainy days because the sump pump quit working, the school calls because a child had trouble during the day. It's muck and if I'm not very careful I can find myself stuck in it very quickly.

But, I'm learning, and it's become more real to me daily, that I do NOT have to be stuck here. Yes, there's the much and if that's what I really want to look at there's plenty there to see. But there's so much more than that. 

Because the muck is only a part, a fraction of this world we live in. We were created for beauty and love and joy and relationship and it's right there for us to find if we will look for it. If I remember to look and to be aware there are the multiple hugs I get each day from both little and big people, there are baby smiles, and sticky kisses, and "thank you mommy's" after band-aids have been placed on skinned knees. There are happy cat purrs, and sunshine after days of rain and the triumph of learning a lesson even though it was tough. There are fresh clean clothes and the scent of a candle burning and shiny clean dishes. There is conversation and laughter around the dinner table, and bedtime stories and prayers. 

And best of all, there is grace and growing and learning and loving and laughing together. 

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

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Wednesday - A Little R and R,