What Goes Around….

Frustration is an additive problem. What I mean to say is that yes, it can compound on small stuff, but more often, I find that when I totally lose it, it’s after continued low-grade frustrations without a break.

For instance: we came home from Florida on Saturday, the 2^nd of January, and by midweek, Julianna and Nicholas were sick. And since then, at all times we have had two sick kids. Not just sick. Really sick. Stay home from school sick. Antibiotic eyedrops sick. Can’t put them down sick. I handled it with sympathy and sweetness for a long time. I managed–barely–to focus on gratitude that at least we weren’t in the hospital this time. Until Tuesday night, when I was flying solo with Christian downstairs teaching lessons, and the early bath trick did NOT help. And then, when Nicholas was too stuffed up to nurse and was screaming while Julianna threw toys and Alex whined, I lost it.

Later, I called my dad. “My kids are driving me CRAZY,” I said, hoping for a little sympathy from someone who had been there.

Instead, he chuckled. “Well, what goes around comes around,” he said. “You’re going through with your kids just what we went through with you girls.”

“Thanks,” I said. “You know, CCL talks about this thing called ‘marital disillusionment.’ They say that in every marriage, at some point, you reach this moment when you think, If I’d felt this way before we got married, I wouldn’t have GOTTEN married. I’ve never felt that about marriage,” I said, “but I feel that way about parenthood tonight!”

Dad laughed heartily.

“I don’t even want to think about the teen years right now!” I added.

Which, of course, set him off even more. He began to sing, “The best is yet to come…”

I suppose this story illustrates Corrie Ten Boom’s suitcase yet again. If we knew what was coming in our lives, we’d never have the courage to go through with the things that provide us the richest blessings.