A good Christian friend of mine, Ann, came around the accounting office wall quicker and swifter than Kramer from the Jerry Seinfield show. As her momentum caught up with her hair, her arm swings caught up with her disposition, and as her words caught up with her stance, Vicki, the head bookkeeper, who is another wonderful dear Christian friend of mine, and I, saw her image come into view. “It’s just been that kind of morning!” Ann bemoaned as she held out a coffee mug in each hand. We all laughed at the prospect of desperately needing to drink two cups of coffee simultaneously, in order to be able to handle the rest of the day. That’s a double fisted approach when the day is so rough that one has to gear up, full speed ahead, with 2 CUPS of the leaded stuff (not decaffeinated!).
Ann’s 14-year-old son was attending summer school for the sake of advancing his math skills. For parents dealing with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), many issues arise: summer school, tutors, tons of prayers, and endless hours dedicated to studying and understanding each lesson. For Ann, it had become an issue of renaming the title to ADD (And Don’t Despair!) Summer school was a wonderful thing for her son, but needless to say, it added a little more to Ann’s routine every morning. The busses don’t run in the summer time: we all know that, but as the rest of us race around the less crowded streets, parents of summer school kids turn into carpooling caretakers. Ann was getting up at the crack of dawn, dropping her son off at school and then heading to work, all before 7:00 a.m. It was practically the graveyard shift compared to last year’s school schedule of waving goodbye to her son at 8:00 on his way to the bus stop.
We all have experienced how it feels when a change of circumstance changes our level of comfort. It’s never fun, and it always requires that determined “Rambo” in us to realize that with Christ all things are possible. We, and we alone, can’t do it all. Well, I have come to understand that I can’t do it all alone, and I feel safe in saying that Ann has found that out for herself as well.
Evening activities keep most parents, including Ann, out and about until 8:00 p.m. or later, before finally returning home with tired kids who need showers and something to eat. Homework was probably already done right after school before heading out to soccer practice, hockey practice, piano lessons, church activities, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and whatever else kids do for extra-curricular creativity. Now don’t get me wrong. It’s wonderful, and I feel it’s necessary for children to be involved in an activity other than school to learn about challenge and self-confidence in something other than scholastics. They learn about teamwork, determination, working hard, and they learn about the exhilaration of success and how to handle defeat, not to mention the beneficial effect that exercise has on their bodies and their minds. The soccer field, the piano bench, Cub Scout sales, and every other tidbit that goes into sportsmanship, all teach them about the real world. We all want our children to grow up and understand the concepts of teamwork, determination, working hard, and we all want our children to handle success as well as defeat appropriately. And so, we take our children, or we volunteer for other parents’ children, in order to teach the next generation the valuable lessons found in a well-balanced life and attitude. But, just as anything else can do, it has the tendency to wear us out! Kids wear us out, but we love them and wouldn’t trade them for the world. Work wears us out, but we go in order to make a difference in the world and in our checkbooks. Sunday mornings wear us out, but we go to church in order to worship, have fellowship with other people in the name of God, and to be renewed and revived by God’s Word. Vacations wear us out, but we go because we are worn out from all the other stuff that I just described. It’s just life, but isn’t it grand?! I think it’s grand, and I’m glad about it all. I also tend to be very glad about pouring that first cup of coffee in the morning. Very glad.
Ann was hilarious with her two cups of coffee! And really, her gesture of two loaded mugs proves a point that I was trying to make with that other paralegal friend of mine: I’m not the only one who goes to that coffee counter with utter determination to slurp that first sip with fervor and say a prayer in faith that God will get me through that day, and I’m not the only one who needs a miracle daily; at least now I know that I’m not the only one who needs God & Coffee too/II! Warrior Moms, has it “just been that kind of morning for you?” Read on. I think you are about to laugh…
IT’S JUST BEEN THAT KIND OF MORNING!
Up again at the crack of dawn
I feel my sanity
Is already gone
Get me some coffee
Say a prayer
I hope my opponents
Today will play fair
Ugh Oh great I’m running late
What is today
What is the date
Whose appointment am I going to keep
When am I going to get more
Sleep
Get a grip grab a mug
Kiss the kids on the cheek
Give the spouse a hug
Where’s the bus
Oh, I forgot it’s now summer
This tennis elbow
Is really a bummer
Sheesh, all these thoughts
Before 7 am
Just say again
I think I can
I read those words to my child Last night
a kids’ book about
surviving plight
But last night was quiet and calm and
Serene
And now this morning my patience
Aren’t seen
Run and rush and off again
I really want to call
My coffee friend
But I’ll just do what needs to be done
And I’ll call her later about all this fun
the car is on E
the appointment was cancelled
keeping up
has me baffled
It’s just been that kind of morning
can you relate
I know that you can
For Heaven’s Sake
When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilga.
2 Kings 2:1
I put this verse in this very spot, because when I found this verse I was reminded that yes, even Elijah was “coming and going and keeping up with life” right up to the point when God took him home. So, remember, whirlwind or no whirlwind, God can raise your spirit!
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:8
Kristina Seymour loves to encourage and equip women through the Word and through community. She is the author of The Warrior Mom Handbook, The Warrior Mom Leadership Manual, and The Warrior Wife Handbook; they are available at Amazon.com. Kristina's Bible studies are for women who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. She has learned that women can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about Kristina, please visit her website, https://kristinaseymour.com/. God loves to share His story of love and grace through us all, and Kristina believes that everyone has a story to tell.