You know, emotions are a choice. Of course they are all innate and we feel them constantly, but it is a choice to act upon them or handle them or even suppress them. Part of taking on this Orange Rhino Challenge is learning how to handle my frustration, anger, and irritation in a way that is constructive to myself and those around me. Rather than feeling irritated and blowing up, I take a deep breath and can evaluate the situation to figure out if it is really worth getting irritated by. Most of the time, it isn't. One of my focal areas in my prayer life has been asking God to help me to refocus myself on the things that matter. Forget about the little things that add up or fester into big things that have no eternal value... I want to focus on what matters in my spiritual life and in every other area of my life. Today, He gave me a glimpse.
We left the house almost 20 minutes later than normal because the alarm clock's volume had been turned down to 0. I am not sure who did it, but my guess would be those cute little chubby fingers that play with it every chance they get. Either way, I woke up late and that put our whole morning schedule behind. It's okay, no frustration here... Jayden got dressed fairly easily for Joe before he had to head out. Peyton woke up as I was getting him dressed without argument or fuss. They were both easy going with getting breakfast, putting on shoes and coats, getting into the car, etc. Our morning was very smooth beyond the fact that we were 20 minutes behind schedule (just a minor detail, right?)
As we got to preschool, I prepped the boys and told them that we needed to walk quickly into school so Mama isn't any more late to work. Then God must have had a chuckle and decided it was time to help me see the wonder and amazement of being two... the little things that we forget as we "grow up". First, we heard an owl and had to search high and low to figure out where it came from. Peyton thought he saw it on top of a house, Jayden couldn't find it anywhere, and I think it was in a tree. Then, we started to walk a second time and stopped to look at the great big moon. It was probably staying out to see the boys' smiles (from the book On The Night You Were Born), so we stopped for them both to smile at the moon. Then we tried walking for a third time, but a medical helicopter flew overhead. Again, we had to stop for Jayden to watch the helicopter and note that it was flying very fast. It's okay, let's go boys! Nope, we had to run and stop at each of the motion lights on the side of the building. They couldn't figure out why the lights weren't turning on when they stopped in front, and my explanation that the sun was already up did not suffice for them. Oh wait, check out that soccer ball out in the field! Then the book fair is still set up in the lobby! So many great things to check out and wonder about! How we ever made it into their classrooms, I do not know but it was a very wonder-filled morning for my little boys. Rather than be frustrated at how late I was going to be for work (I made it on time, by the way), I decided to stop and "smell the roses" with my kids. I chose to enjoy their company for those extra few minutes and appreciate them. Then, God reminded me to be thankful...
Be thankful that my kids can both hear such amazing noises as an owl or a helicopter. Thankful that my kids both have great vision and can see the moon, fast helicopter, and soccer ball off in the distance. Thankful that my kids are both healthy enough that they were not on that medical helicopter. Thankful that my children have strong muscles to run and stop at the motion lights or try to get the soccer ball. Thankful that my children love to read and chose to stop to see the book fair rather than walk right on by. Thankful for all that He has blessed me with in those two little boys and more... While I am still a work in progress, I am thankful that God has chosen to start answering my prayers and helping me refocus on what is important.
Maya Angelou said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I want to be sure that my actions always make my children feel important, feel valued, and feel loved.
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