This Is the Day the Lord Has Made

“Mo-om!” my four year old wailed as I came upstairs from throwing in a load of laundry. “Anneliese sixpadeed my puzzle!!”

Sure enough, her Pocahontas puzzle, which she had nearly completed, lay in pieces once again, scattered on the kitchen floor.

Her two year old sister just can’t resist the urge to sixpadee. She will yell the made-up word as she makes a mess, tossing her older sister’s alphabet Go Fish cards in the air, or tearing apart a puzzle.

“Sweetie, I am so sorry. So sorry. I know it’s really frustrating when your sister does that.”

“Yeah,” she sighed heavily. “Mom, I just wish she was a big girl like me and then she wouldn’t sixpadee anything anymore. And then,” her face brightened at the thought, “there will be two big girls in this house! Mom, when will she get to be a big girl?”

Funny, isn’t that my constant refrain as a mom of little ones?

When will my two oldest be able to play together without my having to referee or redirect every other minute?

When will these girls be able to eat a meal without half of it ending up on the floor?

When will leaving the house no longer require a tactical plan on the scale of a major military operation?

When will we be able to say goodbye to diapers for good?

In short, when will these three little ones all be big girls?

It’s only natural to look ahead to the next stage. (Especially when the current stage is so physically exhausting!) We do want them to grow, and reaching each milestone is reason to celebrate.

But always looking ahead causes me to miss out on the blessings of the day at hand. Worse, my “When will they be big girls” refrain can easily take on a very sour note.

I complain, I get resentful of all the demands, I turn on my husband. Those are the moments when I allow my Old Eve to sixpadee the rich mosaic of blessings that God has hand-pieced, especially for me, especially for this day.

His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Every morning (and all day long), He gives me the forgiveness Jesus earned for me. Every morning, and all day long, He gives me even more.

The sight of my baby’s face breaking into a beaming, single-toothed grin when I open her bedroom door at 7 a.m., because she just can’t wait to start the day with Mommy.

My two year old’s cheek to cheek snuggle on the couch before I start breakfast.

My four year old’s pride over fetching a ring from the bottom of the pool during her swim class.

The blue of the sky on this gorgeous summer day. The wildflowers that delight my girls. The afternoon shade of our massive box elder, a.k.a. “Pooh’s Honey Tree.”

A dinner at home. A spectacular sunset. Songs. Stories. Prayers. Hugs. Fireflies and stars. A quiet house. A good night.

This is the day the Lord has made for me. I will rejoice and be glad.