“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4
As a mother I sometimes feel as if I am just going from small crisis to crisis. I was unpacking our car from a weekend camping trip, and trying to do dishes when I decided to also leave the babies diaper off to give some air to a rash she was fighting and take an opportunity to put her on the potty. That was my first mistake. Potty training I firmly believe should be started before three years old, but definitely not at 18 months on the tail end of a camping trip with a mother dealing with morning sickness and a post camping clean up. Well, she was not put promptly on the potty and her sister stepped in the evidence of that and proceeded to track it across the floor. As if I didn’t have enough work to do without chasing down flip flop tracks across my floor. Thankfully my floors are tile, which show every speck of dirt (a fact I am often not thankful for, but today it was helpful).
As mothers, many of our days with young children will be filled with messes and inconveniences. They are growing people who are learning new skills all the time, often with resulting mistakes. It is important that we take each little disaster in stride, teaching them how to do it better but not overreacting to accidents.
I did not feel like rejoicing while I was cleaning up, and I most certainly did overreact in this circumstance. It is good that God gives me new opportunities each day to learn to rejoice in Him always and to love His little teachers.
Jennifer Pepito-Chapel Editor
