This evening, right around dinner time (it’s always dinner time for us, isn’t it?) the tension was a bit thick in our home. It felt like I spent at least half of the day disciplining my boys, and putting out fires. Two of my sons (who I just corrected) were jumping on the trampoline and saw me through the kitchen window. They smiled big and waved, and that’s when I realized that I was clenching my teeth. 

In hopes of the lightning the mood, I gathered seven or eight votive candles leftover from Thanksgiving and had Sarah line the table with them. Then, I cranked up our favorite City Alight album, “Only a Holy God,” and set the table with our fancy black plastic plate. Ha!

The boys were still quietly bickering as we finished up our grilled chicken and baked potatoes. Suddenly, I had an idea, we were going to encourage one another! So, we focused on one person at a time and then went around the table and shared one (or several) different ways that we saw God’s giftings in them. Strategically, we started with the child who had the most challenging day and then love-bombed him.  

After our time together tonight, I made a few observations:

1. Two of my boys who have been complaining a lot also had a tough time sharing encouragement about one another. As their Mama, this grieves my heart, and I plan to make it a matter of prayer.  
2. After an hour of going around the table, our mood shifted considerably. What would happen if we began the first ten minutes of our day praising God together as a family? I have a feeling that my help with our problem mentioned in number one. 
3. When Justin and Sarah were little, we used to do stuff like this all the time. Getting back to the basics is a gift and necessary. 
4. We all need encouragement. By the end of the evening, Tim, Sarah, and I were all choked up. It’s been a rough few weeks or few years…

You know, right before Tim was laid-off, I felt like we were finally finding our rhythm again. Now, here we are adjusting to yet another new normal with no sure timeline of how long all of this will last.

With all of these things in mind, I remember Psalm 62:8, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” 

Even when we don’t understand, we take the posture of King David and trust in the Lord. And then, we pour out our hearts to the Lord, which means we can tell Him everything. I am so grateful that it’s not up to me to figure this all out, but instead, I  take refuge in Him and wait for Him to move. How great is our God!

Until tomorrow,

Missy 

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