My Ruined Day

The Perfect Morning

The day started out fantastic! I woke up early, my kids woke up in a good mood. All was good at Casa Granillo! I carried on with my morning, doing the typical mom things: picking out clothes (yes I still do this…because I can’t stand my son’s choices…no you can’t wear a button down shirt with sweatpants, I don’t care what you say!), preparing Pop Tarts, making lunches, checking backpacks, doing hair, telling them to brush their teeth…etc. We were doing great on time, we had 15 minutes to spare.  My son grabbed his iPad, my daughter played in her room, and I had a little time to read. 

Ten minutes later I warned the troops, “Five minutes until we leave, put your backpack by the door!” I repeated this instruction multiple times as the countdown continued. With the clock expiring, Izzy emerged from her bedroom with a face full of make-up and play jewelry accessorizing her outfit. I didn’t have time to clean her face or edit her accessory choices. The kids climbed into the car, and we left for school. On our way we were having a lovely conversation about one of our friends who was growing tulips. We prayed together... Izzy prayed for the tulips to grow strong so they can make it through the cold weather…my heart was beaming with pride! Is she not the cutest little human ever? I can’t even!

She Did it on Purpose

When we arrived at school, Izzy noticed that she didn’t have her backpack! In an instant my day went from being lovely and peaceful to rage and frustration.You see, all I wanted was a sugar-free hazelnut latte from Augies. With all things going as planned, I would have had enough time to grab one and make it to a scheduled appointment. I was so irritated that I would have to give up that latte, to drive the ten minutes home to grab the little heathen her back pack, and drive ten minutes back across town, so that she could eat and have water during the course of the day. It crossed my mind to let her deal with it; however, the thought of her teacher having to scramble to help her out and the potential call to CPS for neglect (not really) stopped me.

As I left the school to get the backpack, I vented to fellow parents on the way to my car, my neighbor outside her house as I drove by, and I texted a friend about how Izzy had ruined my plans! This perfect morning had been sabotaged and I wanted others to know about it. But none of the venting actually changed my situation or made me feel better. The reality was that the more life I gave this situation the more angry I became. 

The Enemy is Real

On my way back to the school with the backpack in hand, I questioned why I was feeling such strong emotions.  Then I thought about how the enemy is alive and real.  I gave him the ability to steal this morning from me in the matter of seconds. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:7-8, 

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”  

When the day was beginning to take a left turn, upon realizing the backpack had been left, I should have stopped and prayed for my response.  Instead, I allowed my emotions to take charge. If you know me, you know my emotions aren’t exactly reliable.  But I didn’t stop to think or pray, and Satan like a lion devoured me and my morning in one swift move. 

Satan seems to attack me where vulnerabilities intersect with my pride.This day was perfect…I should have been on alert.  I am currently in a season where I feel like I am trying to make up for a period of time where I neglected my kids while caring for my parents.  So, when this perfect morning highlighted that I couldn’t even get my kids out the door with all the basics for school, it sent me for a ride on the emotional roller coaster. 

Emotional Control

Satan doesn’t have authority over us, we can control our emotions and our responses to the actions of others.  We get to choose how we react.  After 36 years of life, I am finally beginning to understand that emotional control is possible! Slow learner here! 

First, whenever a pebble in our footpath causes us to stumble, we need to pray. In verse 7, Peter tells us to give our cares to the Lord because He cares for us. Pray that the Lord of all the Earth supplies us with the wisdom to handle the situation.  Second, see the pebble as a pebble, not a boulder. Peter goes on to tell us in verse 8 to stay alert. See the inconvenience for what it is…the enemy trying to knock us off our game. Finally, where our pride and vulnerability intersect know that the enemy is lurking and waiting for an opportunity to exploit our weaknesses. 

In the end, I dropped off Isabelle’s backpack. She was thankful and so were her teachers. I decided to grab a latte, because my adult-sized tantrum was a clear indication that I NEEDED the caffeine. And, I made it to my appointment on time. When I arrived, I felt even more ridiculous for having wasted so much emotional energy for nothing! But see, this is how the enemy compounds his attacks and shifts them to other areas of our lives. He is a crafty one!

I pray that one day a forgotten backpack won’t put my sanity at risk. I hope that the next time this happens I won’t see it as a personal assault, but a simple accident. Albeit, she’ll get hot lunch and a bottled water and have to deal, but I won’t lose my morning to it! And most of all my thoughts and actions will bring glory to God rather than anger leading to regret.