Good morning…
“My dear Sue,” she wrote. “I did not respond to your ‘crazy’ message as I was proudly basking in the light of a perfectly celebrated Easter weekend with our children and grandchildren. I was quickly brought back to reality when I received a text from our daughter blaming me for her daughter being sick at school with a tummy problem. It was because the children got so much chocolate (in their found Easter eggs). I know they didn’t eat much here as they all quickly left after the egg hunt. I wanted to shout – ‘Aren’t you willing to take responsibility for the chocolate eggs once they left my house?’ Then I felt so bad for our dear little granddaughter being sick at school and messing up her clothes.”
“I had to choose joy in the moment,” this friend continued, “joy for our mostly wonderful children and wonderful grandchildren all together for Easter; joy for our son having a new young woman in his life who he loves and we love; joy for a husband who shopped for groceries and cooked our entire meal. God quickly reminded me that these are fleeting moments in time and encouraged me to open the eggs of joy. I had to choose to feel ‘more blessed than stressed’ —something I struggle with daily.”
“For you, I think Denny’s or Waffle House is open on Easter,” she mused “maybe a great alternative for the next holiday meal. Your kids will find themselves in your spot one day and will marvel at how you provided such a warm and loving cocoon for them to emerge from into the harshness of this world.”
Stress and strain have caught up with me, but your commandments are my joy! (Psalm 119:143, CEB).
…Sue…
