When You are Having "One of THOSE Days"

I am slightly obsessed with making lists after a couple of trying days.  It's probably some sort of bizarre reaction to the dozens of tiny (or not so tiny) things that happened to spiral out of control over our Easter weekend- which, of course, I had planned out very, very, very carefully.

How naive!

This past weekend was one of the hardest, yet most rewarding I've had in a while.  It was one of THOSE weekends.  You know, the kind where anything and everything that you touch like breaks or blows up.  Listen to some of the things that happened in the past 48 hours:
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• I woke up at 4:30 AM for no apparent reason and couldn’t fall back asleep, twice.
• There was a pop-up rain shower just in time for our Easter egg hunt.
• I braved the Easter crowd at the grocery store only to accidentally shoplift band-aids.  Reed may have had something to do with it.  So I had to go all the way back in to return the band-aids, unbuckling Reed from his carseat, getting wet (again), sweating from the humidity.  So gross! And just so you know, this was not out of any zealous desire to do good, only to avoid the guilt I would surely feel for the rest of the day if I did not.  Just being honest.
• I forgot to eat lunch.  This doesn't happen to me often.  I love my food!
• My phone service was momentarily interrupted and I couldn't contact my husband (who was out of state) during the entirety of my band-aid crisis.
• I planned to help my mother-in-law cook part of Easter dinner on Saturday.  As I pulled out of my driveway my TIRE FELL OFF.   Yes, just fell off.  My son and I just felt a small jolt.  We were going very slowly.  Something about a ball or a joint or some kind of car mumbo-jumbo that I don’t understand.  Apparently, I’m lucky to be alive.
• I forgot to eat dinner.  You know stuff is getting real, now.
• I reached my data cap.
• I was sick on Easter Sunday ALL DAY.
• We broke down while test driving a new car.  On Easter Sunday.  While going up a hill.  Women in Easter dresses had to help push the car.  Like, really?!

After typing these out, I immediately noticed two things:

1. Nine of these ten statements start with “I” or “my”.  (Uh-oh.)
2. I managed to keep my cool all weekend.  I didn’t cry, scream, blame, or freak out (too much).  I was pretty flexible, understanding, and patient.  (Okay!)

I don’t have the energy to break down the implications of #1 today.  We’ll save that for another time.  I can, however, attribute #2 to a few things:

• God.  The wonderful, powerful, transformative grace of God.
• The support of my family and friends.  Everybody stepped up in a big way.
• This book: Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa TerKeurst​.  I seriously LOVE this book.

Lysa TerKeurst is one of my favorite people ever.  I’ve never met her.  But she is so real,  I just know we would get along.  She is deep, passionate, funny, and loving.  This book made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me seriously consider how I handle emotionally charged situations.  She discusses short and long term ways to handle raw emotions, and she does so with vivid, everyday examples.  Each page is filled with understanding and grace, and she addresses every single question that I had about topics such as “exploding”, “stuffing”, dealing with people in emotional situations, and talking to myself on days like the ones I had this past weekend.  When I was reading this book, I felt so connected and human in my emotional struggles.  And I felt equipped to handle “making wise choices in the midst of raw emotions”.  Well, this past weekend was test time, and I think, for the most part, I passed.  So I am going to apply the "internal chatter" chapter right here, right now, reminding myself that:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

I'd like to end the weekend with a new list:

• I was able to wake up early and spend time with God and work on my new blog for 3 hours, uninterrupted.  Twice!
• I got to watch Reed wear his cute new raincoat while hunting Easter eggs.
• I had money to buy all of the groceries I needed, and my sister brought me bandaids.  My sister is awesome.
• I ate a late lunch, and had plenty of food to enjoy.
• I have an iPhone, and I love it.  The service is rarely interrupted.
• Although I had some car trouble, nobody was hurt in what could’ve been a very dangerous situation.  My husband and friends took care of towing my car and getting me a replacement car for no charge.  Thank you, God, for my husband and our loving, selfless friends.
• My sister reminded me to eat dinner.  Again- awesome.  Everybody needs someone in their life who will say, "Hey, psycho, here's a cookie."
• I had plenty of time to spend with my family and friends, doing what I love.
• I had plenty of medicine to help me feel better on Easter Sunday.
• We are test driving cars!  We have money to spare on a car payment, and God showed us that something wasn't right with this one we were test driving before we bought it.  

Although 10 out of 10 of these now start with “I” or “my” or "we" (sigh), I like this list much, much better.  My Easter weekend was full of some wonderful moments that I will remember for the rest of my life, like The Little Outdoorsman getting his first piano, flying kites in the clear, blue sky, and rescuing the church Easter Bunny from Reed's manipulative endeavors (for another post).  But for now I rest in gratitude instead of becoming unglued.  "Imperfect progress", as Lysa would say.

Thank you, God, for perspective.
Thank you, God, for teaching and transforming me through your Word and Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst.
Thank you, God, for my husband and son.
Thank you, God, for my family and friends.
Thank you, God, for your wonderful blessings and protection.

He's good, friends!

Until next time,
​Rebekah