Finding the Sacred in the Chaos

Well, like I always say, the course of life ebbs and flows and for natural reasons, some days are harder than others. Some days are full of sweet grace, ease of temper, smooth runnings. Other days are filled with little ones bickering, disciplining souls, including my own, and what feels like just plain chaos.
This week, I had a day that was difficult, a crying little one with a terrible cold, yucky cough and snotty nose, couldn't seem to survive without me touching her. There I was, teaching Levi piano, while holding the screaming little one, who seem to want to get down, but then when I put her down, she didn't want to get down...I sat there thinking, "How do I give thanks, that 'eucharisto', with a screaming baby and a group of little people with many needs and wants surrounding me?" I gulped back the lump forming in my throat. I moved to the couch to read books with the crying little one, when 2 more little girls come crying to me, telling me about their most recent argument. While I solve and discipline the little ones, one accidently whacks me in the face, huh? I start crying, it was the last straw. It wasn't so much the pain of the kick to the face, it was the culmination, the peak of the 'stress', the straw that broke this proverbial camel's back.
How do I give thanks in this chaos, this messy moment of my life, where I struggle to remain calm, to be sweet, to be strong, to be consistent, to abide in the Vine? I call out to the mountains, from whence comes my help, My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. This wisdom I found this day was: fun, finding fun in the middle of the chaos, making a moment that would live forever in our hearts...moving on from the hard, necessary parts to the sweet and precious spots...
Here is what came of our day:








We had a good time, told a few stories, ate pb&j and cookie dough. But the best part was that we had fun and we enjoyed one another and the moment of just being together. I want to drink in all those times, all those things, every second that I can. I want to zip my lip when I am tempted to complain because the days get hard. I want to learn how to be more consistent, by God's grace, to be the mom I want to be and I want to grow in Him and abide in Him and thank Him for every precious second I get to live this life with these five wonderful little beings. "Oh God help me to always find the sacred in the chaos of my life, to give thanks in all things, for this is Your will."

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18