Waste of a day???

Today has been one of those days where I feel like nothing got accomplished, like I might as well chalk it up as a wash! Emmie woke up (way too early) with a fever. Brendan isn't even here, he's with his grandparents. I half way did my Bible study and couldn't concentrate because the kids were already awake. It was one of those days where I definitely let my kids play the Wii too much and watch too many PBS cartoons. We squeezed in some phonics, science, reading and math, but as is so typical, I feel like it wasn't enough "school" today.

I saw a verse that said, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). I got to thinking...what good do I possibly do? And in my self-doubt I realized that I have been blessed with five amazing children to raise and nurture. Seems like I can do a whole lot of good with that! And how comforting that God has prepared me in advance for what I must do as a mother. I am so thankful to have Him by my side to guide me through this thing called parenthood (and life for that matter!!).

Then I thought about our day again, with a different outlook. I was pleased rather than discouraged because I realized that I was able to snuggle with Emmie and read to her a lot more than on a typical day. I realized that Brendan is spending time with two different sets of grandparents and building those relationships, and that they won't always be around for him to hang out with. I realized that Gracie and I were able to sit, just the two of us, and do her math and science and read some fun Dr. Seuss books without any interruptions because the two little ones were sleeping at the same time - a rare occurrence! I realized that Jaylon had done all his chores without being reminded or arguing and finished his math with no complaining. On top of that he took it upon himself to clean out his drawers! And for me, well, I was finally able to finish all the laundry and get it put away while we were watching cartoons...my room looks normal again. :-)

So today was not a wash, it just took some gentle reminding from the Holy Spirit that not everyday has to look the same to be a good one.