Minor Irritations

I could list all four of my children here, but that wasn't really the point of this post's title! I've had the blahs all week, been frustrated and discouraged, and just have generally felt cranky, irritable, and, well, like a failure when it comes to doing what I'm supposed to.

Sometimes I feel as if I'm fairly "good" at weathering life's major storms. Owner of our house foreclosed upon and we have to move? OK, no problem. (The first time, that is...) Sick child needs to go to ER? All right, let's go. Eight weeks into a pregnancy and my baby is gone? Difficult, but the nearness of God and the overwhelming sense of His love and majesty brought me through in a way I never would have imagined.

So why, then, do I have such a terrible time with daily irritations?? Why can't I accept life's minor problems and frustrations with humor and grace as a regular response instead of an exceptional one?

Here is a smattering of life's minor irritations that have come my way this last week:

* My keys--gone. I am highly suspicious that a short person made off with them, but there's no proof yet. They've been MIA since after the Valentine's Day party last week. If anyone has any ideas where I should look, please let me know, because I think I've checked just about every possible location.

* The IRS informed us that we made a mistake on last year's return, and we had to pay $211. Sigh. At least it's not $2,000.

* Arden dumped a full glass of milk on his way to the table yesterday. Not only did it spill in the immediate vicinity (table, chairs, wall), but it also BOUNCED (I've never seen milk bounce before, but trust me, that's the best word here) up onto the dividing wall, onto the Sonlight instructor's guide that was on top of the wall, OVER the wall (it's fairly short), and onto the floor in the family room.

* Kenna managed to drop a container of grape tomatoes onto the floor at the commissary yesterday. The kids helped me chase them all down, and since it was my fault that the package was within the reach of Miss Inquisitive, I felt obligated to buy it anyway. I will scrub the tomatoes and we will enjoy them. Or else!!

* The drain clogged up yesterday, causing some alarm that there was a problem with the garbage disposal. The gross stinky water sat in there all day. Thankfully, My Hero came home from work last night and figured out that it was simply blocked in the U-bend. He sacrificed wearing his favorite pair of flannel pants for the evening after getting them yucky while making repairs. Thank God for my husband!!!

* Kenna has decided that afternoon naps are optional. A nearly one-year-old who keeps herself awake for 6-8 hours at a stretch is NOT a happy baby, no matter what people may tell you.

* Taking 4 children to the eye doctor at 4:30 p.m. on a day when Kenna's total nappage equalled 2 hours was probably closer to a Major Irritation rather than a minor one, but I'll stop here.

You get the idea. Nothing earth-shattering, nothing traumatic, nothing that makes me want to bury my head and weep for days. But frustrating and difficult when it seems one irritation comes on top of another.

I'm in the throes of trying to get started writing the Bible study for Commission, and I'm sure a big part of my discouragement is the spiritual warfare that we always seem to encounter this time of year. In fact, Ted was quicker to point it out this year, as we have definitely noticed a trend of an alarming number of Minor Irritations that hit us at once when I "officially" begin working on the Bible study!

Please keep me in your prayers if you think of it. The youth camp in Idaho is a significant ministry for our family and our dear friends that we meet each year. God always does great things in spite of ourselves, and I can't wait to see how He will help me overcome these small obstacles for His greater glory.