With Spring comes the Rainy Days...

   Ever had one of those days where you just want to crawl right back into bed, pull the covers over your head, and pretend you dont need to come out from under there today?

Uh huh. I am betting you have been there, and done that.

   Well, yesterday was one of those days for me.

It was rainy.

It was overcast.

And it was really, really dark out....all day

   I should have figured it out when, by the time the twins got up, I had only been able to drink half my cup of coffee.

   Or maybe when one of the twins refused to give me a good morning hug, and threw herself full tilt down into a temper tantrum because I wouldn't let her have a sip of my coffee... (and after she plunged her hand into it--first praise God it was cool enough, and second, do you understand why I drank only half?).

   Or perhaps when, after two hours of running around and getting everyone ready for pictures at a studio, we show up after 30 minutes of driving, and the VERY NICE photographer informs us our appointment was an hour before that. Yep, we needed to reschedule. She very pointedly said she had tried to call a couple times--oh, did I tell you I left my phone sitting next to my keys on the buffet as I was running out the door to go to the appointment? Good thing my husband was driving...and that I didn't lock the door.

  Or that everyone seemed to be on edge, and no matter how much I tried to help certain children not fight, to share, and love, and play happily, instead it was growling... and snarling... and arguing. One of my twins has a new favorite thing to do when she is mad: she actually roars at whomever has upset her. The other one sounds like a pterodactyl scream, so you can imagine the house noise level all day long.

   If I had known what yesterday was going to be like, I promise you, I would have spent a LOT more time doing my devotions and praying than I already did. If only you can see ahead that you are going to need way more help than the usual day!

   I could go on and on, but instead I will just say I am very thankful that

today is a new day, 

and full of new blessings and mercies.

   There were a few simple things that helped the day grow better as it went on, and for that I am thankful as well. It is recital music week with my piano students, where they get to choose, and play, this year's recital music for the very first time. I was blessed to be able to see a couple of them have "the light go on" in certain areas they have been struggling over the last year or month or so. One of them, an autistic young man who is absolutely SOON going to be the next Mozart, (I'm not kidding--this kid has an unbelievable gift) was my favorite of the day. He has been working so hard on a certain classical piece, only to give up each time and re-start when not being able to go through the phrase completely without a mistake. He stopped, put his head in his hands, and just sat there. My mommy heart just felt so sad for him. And I could sympathize.

So leaning over to him, I gently put my hand on his shoulder and said: " All you need to do is step back, breathe deep, slow down, and ask the Lord for help." It was like watching a withering plant receive water. He straightened up, put his hands on the keys, took a deep breath, and next thing I know.....he was flying through the part with not a single mistake. It was so beautiful in so many ways. When he was done, I could tell from the brilliant smile that he was ready to jump off the bench and shout for joy, and so was I! Instead he just looked at me, smiled, and said: "Thank you." in such a heart-felt way it brought a lump to my throat.

And it changed my whole perspective on that dreary, painful day.

   It made me realize that it is the ups and the downs, the delights and the painful days, that make up the whole picture of a walk of faith. In this journey, if I allow myself to get so focused on the little things that take all my energy, and all my attention, I will miss the forest for the trees, so to speak. However, if I keep my eyes on the big things, and try to remember the beauty that is woven in and out of my life every single day, it makes those kind of days just a dark thread to highlight the gold in the other days, and weeks of my walk. After all, my life is not all about me, but about the Giver who walks me through it and asks me only to focus on what He is asking me to do. If I keep that in mind, then it takes a lot of pressure off of this pair of weary shoulders.

   Are you there this morning? Has it been a rainy, dark, and dreary day or week for you? Let me encourage you to do the same thing I told my student to do:

"Step back, 

take a deep breath, 

slow down, 

and ask the Lord for help."

 "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:10-13)

   Many Blessings to you and yours, 

Heather

Linked up at: Raising Mighty Arrows, and Our Simple Country Life