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| Self-inflicted haircuts too shall pass... though not as quickly as we might like. |
Note: names have been changed to protect the innocent and the
guilty.
“Mommy, come see what the twins are doing in the bathroom!”
my oldest child, “Edison” (our scientist), hollered from the upstairs hallway one
sunny morning.
I left the breakfast dishes in the sink and started up the
stairs—only to step in what I discovered to be sparkly pink princess
toothpaste. Carefully removing my sock and leaving it to mark the spot, I
proceeded to a bathroom echoing with giggles. “Marigold,” my merry, golden-haired
girl, was pumping hand soap into the toilet, much to the amusement of
“Stanley,” her younger-by-20-minutes twin (our obsessive hobbyist and sometimes
hoarder). Cornstarch, normally used to soothe irritated bottoms, now dusted the
vanity and floor. The sink taps were on full blast but had not yet succeeded in
washing away gobs of sparkly blue toothpaste from the basin. Enter mommy.
The water was turned off. All bottles and tubes confiscated.
Behavior addressed. The reprimanded two-year-old culprits were sent to their
room while I got busy scrubbing. The room was almost clean when Edison called
again.
“Mommy, the twins are in your bathroom!”
Sure enough, there stood Stanley, squeezing Aquafresh
toothpaste down the toilet while Marigold pumped $9 facial lotion into the bowl.
Another round of reprimands and rules. Another round of mess to be cleaned up.
And so the day went.
It wasn’t the first time that catastrophe seemed scheduled
for every waking hour of the day. With four kids capable of running in opposite
directions, trouble is bound to happen. Even with one child, if you dare to
blink or use the bathroom alone, something will happen eventually. Curious minds
and adventurous souls with unending energy are hard to contain.
What do you do? How do you move through a day of teaching
and enforcing rules and addressing behaviors and attitudes and cleaning up messes
while feeding and clothing everyone and even trying to love them without losing
it? How do you stay sane while surrounded by what is insane? One suggestion:
grab your camera.
Probably every modern mom has snapped pictures of her child
caught in the act of some misdeed. Why do we do this? Why do we choose to
capture that moment of trouble? First of all, because we know someday we will
need proof that it really was as bad as we say it was during family
storytelling. Also, it makes for good conversation starters when the grown-up
kid brings home a perspective spouse. It’s only fair to let an outsider know
what they may be signing up for.
However, humor aside, taking the time to look at some
troublesome kid behavior or misadventure through a camera viewer can help the
soul keep perspective. After all, photos capture events we know won’t last
forever. When we urgently grab the camera and take a picture of something, we
are subtly acknowledging that what we see is fleeting. Consider what the Bible
says about our lives:
“As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.” (Psalm 103:15-16)
We are vanishing. Our lives are as
short-lived as the dandelions my children pick. How much shorter our individual
days? When we stop to take a photo, we do so in the knowledge that soon the
moment will be a mere memory. So when the days are hard or long or messy, stop
and take a photo and then look at that still on your screen. Whether or not you
have taken the time to clean up yet or address the culprit, that picture shows
a moment that has already passed. One day, these troubles will be in the past.
The Bible doesn’t just leave us with a
fleeting life—what consolation would that be? Why bother at anything in life if
it will all be over in blink? No, we are pointed to something more than finite
moments. We are pointed to an infinite God:
“But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:17-19)
Troubles and trials may come and go, but the Lord will never
pass away. From everlasting to everlasting, He is with His children. His sustaining
grace will remain. It will not grow old and worn out. He will never reach the
end of His wisdom and walk out on us. His steadfast love will be present
forever. He will be merciful, faithful, and a strong refuge for every
moment—not only for you, but for your children, for your grandchildren, and for
every generation that calls on His name. He will never fail.
If you find yourself in a season of troubles, if it seems
like it is just one thing after another, take out your camera and start taking
pictures—of sick kids, broken cars and appliances, messy houses, meltdowns, endless
laundry, bills, piles of paperwork, injuries, medical diagnoses, unfinished
projects, etc. Frame the trouble with your camera viewer and snap the shot.
Someday, that picture will be of a past event. The trial may seem long now, but
it will end. It is a fleeting trouble. Remember the One who won’t end, won’t leave,
and won’t pass away: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8). We have an everlasting Savior. Look to Him and trust Him for the
sustaining grace to face this day’s fleeting troubles.
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