Help, I'm drowning!

I have received not a few email messages with this basic message--"I'm drowning, can you help me?"

Let's face it, life is tough on planet earth. It seems as though for those of us at home with little children, it is tougher than most.

But this isn't true. Life is tough for everyone. It is simply the condition of mankind on planet earth since the fall; everything that can go wrong tends to do so, or, as the scientists tell us, "everything tends to entropy".

However, this knowledge isn't much comfort when we are sitting in a living room piled high with laundry, nursing an infant while the toddler dismantles all of the DVD's, and smelling our late dinner burning on the stove.

It also doesn't help when an older mother smiles smugly and spouts the cliche, "Been there, done that!"

I still go through these times every-so-often, but I am not as inclined to hit the panic button as I was in former times. Over the years I have developed a sort of strategy to deal with times like these.

First of all, I have found that things can look differently depending on my perspective. Different things can affect my perspective, such as how much sleep I have been getting, or who I have been speaking with, or even what I have been reading. It is a good idea to take a personal inventory on just what perspective I am operating from.

Secondly, I am sure the devil is indeed quite threatened by me and will do whatever he can to convince me that I am just spinning my wheels, or that I am indeed going down into the deep, dark abyss with no return. Some days I could swear there was a demon assigned specifically to me to hide everything I need just at the time I need it, things such as shoes and keys and important bills. This helps me most when I realize that he is just a bunch of hot air, that what God blesses he cannot curse (think about Balaam and the Israelites). The Holy Spirit reminds me of the words in an old song, "Something good is bound to happen, or the devil would not be workin' overtime". Being an old cowgirl, I sometimes state out loud in defiance, "You've messed with the wrong Christian, this is only going to get me praying and praising more!"

Thirdly, I have found that a lot of what I perceive to be horrible circumstances disappear the moment I get my eyes back on Jesus--

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of the earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Then, when I am finally convinced once again that God is in control, I can take a look at my physical circumstances, and if there are any real problems, I have a clear heart and mind to be able to come up with a strategy of attack with the end being a solution. I tend to expect God's words to be true when He says, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light". If things are seeming too great for me to bear, there is something out of balance, and God will help me to get it back into balance with Him.

For instance, if the toddler messes everything up while I am nursing, I come up with a plan to place him in the playpen every time I nurse (I may have to spend some time training him to stay in the playpen with a little negative reinforcement ahead of time). If the dinner is constantly late and it seems to be I am constantly ruining it, maybe I am spending too much time on the phone or the computer during the day, or perhaps my meals are too complicated, or maybe a little bit of forethought could go a long way.

But I don't get too caught up in the planning stage; I have also learned that planning can give me the false feeling I have actually done something, when all I have done is think about it. It takes action and following through with ideas I might have--and that's why keeping these plans as simple as possible is the best way to ensure that I will actually carry them out. I have known folks who own volumes of books on organization, but who trip on the over-flowing cat litter box every time they walk across the living room floor. Organization is 1 part planning to 4 parts implementation.

There are so many nifty ways to organize and get things back on track--my daughter with two toddlers loves Fly Lady, but this is just one resource. Managers of Their Homes is another with some good suggestions, but for those of us who are more free-wheeling, her ideas must be tempered slightly. Raising Godly Tomatoes is a good resource for gaining order through discipline.

It is so easy to want to blame the children, or the husband, or the lack of money when we come up against a wall, but if we examine it more closely, we might just find that the wall is right out of a scene from Looney Tunes; painted there to throw us off and keep us from continuing on to higher freedoms and majestic vistas.

There's within my heart a melody

Jesus whispers sweet and low:

Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,

in all of life's ebb and flow.

Refrain:

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

sweetest name I know,

fills my every longing,

keeps me singing as I go.

All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,

discord filled my heart with pain;

Jesus swept across the broken strings,

stirred the slumbering chords again.

(Refrain)

Though sometimes he leads through waters deep,

trials fall across the way,

though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,

see his footprints all the way.

(Refrain)

Feasting on the riches of his grace,

resting neath his sheltering wing,

always looking on his smiling face,

that is why I shout and sing.

(Refrain)

Soon he's coming back to welcome me

far beyond the starry sky;

I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown;

I shall reign with him on high.

(Refrain)