*Please enjoy the random (but adorable) photos of my Happy Buddies that have nothing to do with the content of this post. I didn’t have any photos of them in a storm, so these will have to do.* 🙂
On Saturday afternoon the Happy Baby woke up from his nap crying hysterically.
I raced to his room.
I gathered my bawling baby out of the crib only to be covered in lots and lots of throw-up a moment later.
My thoughts immediately started going wild.
Like rodeo buffalo wild.
He had been crawling around earlier that day on a dirty floor and I had forgotten to wash his hands… What if he had contracted something serious? What if he was going to keep throwing up and would get dehydrated and we’d spend Mother’s Day Eve in the hospital with an IV? What if he was so sick we’d have to move back to the hospital for another 3 months?
As I vulnerably type these things, I wince at my lack of faith.
No matter how faithful God has proven Himself to me in the past (especially where the health of the Happy Baby is concerned – um did you see yesterday’s post?!), I still let myself get consumed with fear.
Later that evening, the Happy Baby spiked a fever.
Around 10 pm he still wasn’t settling after many attempts to rock, sing, and snuggle him to sleep. I finally gave up and wandered with him and my anxious heart out into the living room to watch TV with the Happy Hubby.
A thunderstorm stirred in the distance and I thought rather bitterly, “Fitting.”
It was upon us in a matter of minutes – the thunder cracking so loud the dishes in the cabinet were rattling.
The Happy Buddy roused awake and burst into tears from his bedroom.
He came hurtling out to join us on the couch as another thunderous boom filled the sky.
Both of the boys were crying now.
Then tears welled up in my own eyes.
I was heading down that path of hopelessness and despair. Do you know the one? When all of motherhood just seems like this big giant thunderstorm raining sick babies, and no answers, and FEAR, and sleepless nights?
Almost in an instant, the Lord reminded me of the words from that popular song, “I will praise you in this storm…”
And it hit me. Praise. Yes. That’s exactly what we needed to do.
Summoning strength from the Lord Himself (because my flesh wanted to just leave the boys with Daddy and go escape under the covers – or in a pint of ice cream), I reached over to hold the Happy Buddy’s hand.
Remembering something I had heard in a sermon once, I said in a hushed voice, “Whenever we hear a thunder boom, let’s see who can shout GLORY TO GOD the fastest.”
He wiped at his wet cheeks and I saw the faint hint of a smile.
We quietly waited for the thunder.
When it came, we all shouted, “Glory to God!”
And then we all dissolved into giggles.
“Shhhhhh!” the Happy Buddy said, “Here comes another!”
So we waited for the thunder again.
And our voices rang out, “Glory to God!”
Even the Happy Baby forgot his discomfort (which I later sheepishly realized was from teething) and sat there pointing his little finger heavenward.
Suddenly the big, horrible storm didn’t seem quite so bad.
That night when both boys were finally asleep… peacefully, I might add… I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit.
Motherhood is full of storms.
From big storms like a child’s health, or mommy guilt, or whether or not to hold your child back a grade, or toddler tantrums, or teenager troubles, or even the whole pregnancy itself, to little storms like sibling squabbles or how/what to feed them, or the permanent red marker stains on your beautiful living room rug (when will they make a Magic Eraser for carpets?!?), or LAUNDRY, or that diaper blowout that happened right after you put fresh sheets in the crib… 🙂
Storms of motherhood are basically the things that happen that make us feel like we are not in control.
When real storms rage outside, there is nothing we can do.
When our kids get sick, there is not a whole lot we can do.
When our kids draw on the carpet, there is not a whole lot we can do (except Time-Out until he’s 17, maybe?).
If we are not careful, we can let these storms beat us up, knock us down, make us panic, make us weary, make us feel all alone, consume our thoughts and make us forget who loves us so incredibly much.
These storms of motherhood, however, are designed for our good.
Storms make us trust a little more. Storms teach us Who’s really in charge.
Storms make us better mothers.
Because doesn’t the rain make things grow?
My mother-in-law reminded me when I confessed my fearful heart about the Happy Baby, “Julie, you must be ready for the enemy’s attacks. Know they are coming so that when they do, you are prepared.”
Mentally prepared, friends.
The enemy can have a field day with our thought life, can’t he?
In a matter of seconds I was 100% sure the Happy Baby had something akin to Ebola and I was practically packing our bags for the hospital again.
But something even smaller like our kid getting in trouble at school, or pitching a fit on aisle 3 can make our thought life take us straight into the path of the storm and before we know it, we are laying down, defeated – convinced we are the worst moms on the planet and we are all alone.
So we must be prepared for the days of in-climate weather.
We must know what to do when they come.
I find it interesting that as our game from the night before progressed, we began to anticipate the thunder.
In fact, we couldn’t wait for it to come so that we could stand firm and shout joy in its face.
And with every shout of praise, we were reminded of our great and awesome Father who is bigger than any ole’ thunderstorm.
So maybe that means the next time the Happy Baby starts to show signs of illness, or the enemy starts whispering lies, or one my kids poops in the tub, or the kitchen looks like someone had a paint gun war in it, or I’ve been up all. night. long., or {insert-something-that-happened-to-you-that-didn’t-go-the-way-you-wanted-it-to-here}, BECAUSE THE STORMS WILL COME, instead of letting my thoughts run wild, or my flesh try to fix and figure out, or despair to creep in…
I will remember the night we shouted praise at the storm.
And maybe, as I learn how to respond to a storm, my Happy Buddies will, too.
🙂
“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:10-11
AMEN!!!
YES! Yes, yes, yes. Glory to God! GLORY TO GOD!
AMEN! Beautiful post. It was wonderful seeing you at the hospital, your beautiful boy is growing fast.
Thank you….just thank you!
Oh Julie my sweet friend, God has used your precious heartfelt words once again to speak to my heart. I have read this again and again tonight. I needed these words. Thank you!!! There ARE soooo many difficult motherhood storms!! I can’t wait to start praising right through them!!! 😉 Thank you for being so vulnerable and honest. I can’t say enough how much comfort in gives me to know I’m not alone in the fear and anxiety that can take hold. HE is stronger!!! 😉 Thank you dear friend!!! I hope you had a very happy mommas day!!! Xoxo Katie Nicholson
Sent from my iPhone
OK, I want to start by saying that while this comment may seem that I missed the point, I promise you, I did not. In fact, I felt like we were sitting over coffee because this was so real to me. BUT……what my brain can’t let go of is your beautiful living room carpet with the ink stain. I’m lamenting over it with you in the spirit of friendship. 🙂
I ran across this “miracle” carpet cleaner online a while back and it worked great on our VERY neutral sand colored carpet. I was thinking that maybe it might work in place of the magic eraser for carpets. Best of luck 🙂
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2011/12/homemade-carpet-stain-removerno.html
While I understand your fears for his health, trying to keep him hermetically sealed in a sterile environment does more to harm him in the long run than letting him get dirty like regular kids. Sure, he had a rough go of it for his first year but, Mama, you can’t coddle him his whole life. That’s not our jobs as parents.
Girl, you are so right! While I certainly don’t keep him in a sterile environment (you should see my bathrooms – ha!), I definitely take a TON more precautions that are probably a bit over-the-top. Thanks for telling me what’s what!
Thank you so much for your humble transparency. Your words bring encouragement. Thank God for His grace. Hugs with some sparkle.
This was so beautiful. It just lifted me up on the inside and elevated me to a place of beauty, strength, and victory. Thank you for sharing. And I LOVE how you guys shouted at the storm. :O)
Thank you
Thank you for the reminder . Your faith is contagious.
What a lovely post. Though some days I long for the storms of raising younger children vs the storms of today, your words are true and encouraging no matter how scary or big the storm is.
Thank you. I needed this reminder this week. Xoxo
I work with your mother-in-law ( LOVE HER!!) and she told me about your blog. I’ve been reading your posts for the last few weeks and wanted to comment how much I enjoy your writing and your vulnerability! I am just over 8 months pregnant with our first (a boy…YAY!) and your story with Happy Baby has been such an inspiration to me. 🙂 Keep on sharing and writing!
Amen!! Praise the Lord in the storm. HE is the only one un total control, we just need to trust HIM.
I just have to say, that I love your posts and they are always so uplifting and that Happy Baby is just too adorable. Thanks for sharing and bringing a bright note to my day.
Julia, your comments are the bright spot in my day! 🙂 THank you!
Thank you for the encouragement. I was feeling bad about my current storm (that has been going on for over a year) and this brought tears to my eyes. God bless you!
Oh Debbie! Hang in there, girl… You are a precious daughter of the King and so dearly loved…
Wonderful post! I like the idea of saying Glory to God during the physical storms. Thanks for the encouragement!
A friend sent me your Blog because I’ve been dealing with fear and anxiety. Beautifully written reminder to find glory in the storm.
Michelle, you are precious! Thanks for sharing your heart here… I struggle so much with fear… But lately God has been showing me how to actually deal with it. It’s not easy, but He is my strength! And yours… I will say a prayer for you tonight. Don’t ever hesitate to email me if you ever need to chat about it!
God always touches my heart through your posts!!! Thank you for sharing and being real.
Thanks, Frances! Your comments touch MY heart!
Of all the blogs I follow, Yours is the one I love…because you humble yourself and you give glory to God! You have such a ministry to young mothers! I don’t know if we can ever be fully prepared for Satan’s attacks…he sneaks up on us when and where we are vulnerable when we least expect it…But our God is a great God and He will take us through the storms! Read Max Lucado’s “In the Eye of the Storm”…Blessings to you!
wow I cant tell you how many times this has happened to me, my son was hospitalized with asthma in ICU for 6 days I prayed and cry and was consumed with fear, until I uttered the words your will be done believe me those were the hardest words to say. and at that time is when the holy spirit filled me with peace God is so good, I went home with my precious baby boy and that’s when it all began every time he would get a cold fear would just take over me and it was kinda like crippling, and I would do just like you do and say the Lord had got me baby through this and he will do it again but I know that place you talk about it is terrible but God does see us through, now my baby is a big boy 8 yrs old and when he gets sick and Satan tries to fill me with fears I just pray and praise the Lord for all he has done you cant praise God and have fear at the same time it doesn’t happen so that’s my story I will keep you in prayer and like your mother in law said be ready so when you are being attack and you will be, you have your Armour on, God bless you sister thanks for sharing your story Love Linda –
Oh Linda! You are such an encouragement! Thank you for taking the time to share your heart!
‘ Love your creaivity with the storm! You truly are a blessing. I taught 3yr. olds umpteen years ago-in the “good ole days”. You will love it-diapers and all! It will be one of those expriences we call “character building”. And you will also be a better mother for having that exprience. Blessings, Kay ‘
From: Happy Home Fairy >To: [email protected] >Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 9:04 PM >Subject: [New post] Storms > >Happy Home Fairy posted: “*Please enjoy the random (but adorable) photos of my Happy Buddies that have nothing to do with the content of this post. I didn’t have any photos of them in a storm, so these will have to do.* 🙂 On Saturday afternoon the Happy Baby woke up from his n” >
I found this email saved in a folder in my inbox–you posted it just a few weeks before Savannah was born, and I guess I knew I would go through storms as a mom and wanted to have it as a reference.
Well, fast forward 5 and a half years and I just found it, but at such a fitting time. For Savannah’s first few years of life I was the over-protective, germaphobe mom. Savannah started kindergarten in August and has gotten sick SO much. It’s been very discouraging and I’ve felt A LOT of fear and anxiety. The Lord has always healed her and she’s always gotten better, and I try to remind myself that with each sickness her immune system is getting stronger, but it’s been really tough! I fear the sleepless nights, her in pain, her getting worse, etc.
So, thank you for this post, written over five years ago! I think I’ll print it out so I can refer to it as needed 🙂