Ever have those days where nothing makes sense? If you’re a mom, you’re thinking it would be easier to count the number of days that do make sense, right?
Now, I’m not talking about days that are a little frustrating or days that make you a little frazzled. I’m not even talking about the doozies–the days where you stumble in the door with your kiddos, ragged, feeling like you’ve just run the gauntlet of the America Ninja Warrior course, being hit and whacked and splashed on and pulled apart, and your husband says, “You were just at Walmart, right? How can it be that bad?”
Ummmm…It’s now you wish you were a Praying Mantis–you know, the bugs that eat their mates?
Anyway, my point is that often we have these crazy times, but at the end of the day, in reevaluating our circumstances, we realize the lesson in the trials.
This all sounds good, right? Sounds good until one night when you’re doing the laundry, and you find bacon in your washer.
You tell me. What’s the lesson in that one? On Tuesday night, this actually happened. I was pulling my kids’ clothes from the washer when I realized little bits of something were repeatedly falling from the clothes. I started investigating, and there on the floor and inside of the washer was bacon. Now, there is absolutely no reason for bacon to be in my washer. I don’t eat in my laundry room, I hadn’t fixed bacon in days, I asked my 3 year old if he put bacon in his jeans pocket (which was probably the winner for “Craziest Mom Question of the Year”) and he said no. Even my 10 year old, who would sell his younger brother for a plate of bacon, had no idea where it came from. It’s bacon!! You NEVER find bacon in your washer. There’s no reason for it, no understanding it, and even two days later there is still no epiphany. I finally had to come to the conclusion that I have no answer right now, and I may never have one.
This may seem silly, but being a teacher of elementary kids and a mom of young children, I realized there was an object lesson I could glean from this. I don’t know about you, but I learn best from object lessons. My kids and students also seem to really engage when I can use an object lesson. Even Jesus himself used object lessons to get across his point to the disciples and others.
So, here it goes. I started thinking about the frustration I had with the bacon in my washer and the idea that I’m just never going to figure this out. But then I thought, just because I don’t understand what happened, does that mean that I will never trust the washer again to take care of my needs?
Of course we would all say “no” to this ridiculous question when it refers to washers and bacon, but what if we were to apply it to Someone else, maybe Someone who created the universe and has all things under His control?
The days we have that absolutely don’t make sense and may never make sense are the hardest days of all. I want to figure things out. I’m a mom. I’m supposed to be on top of things and plan out ahead of the unpredictable crazies, right? But there are just some days where no amount of planning will prepare me and no amount of explanation will rationalize what’s going on. These are the days when I just have to believe the promise that “All things work together for good (Rom. 8:28).” These are the days I just have to rest in the Lord, and be assured that He’s got this. Whether it’s bits of bacon or seemingly insurmountable circumstances. Let him deal with the why. Just slip one hand in His leading arm and with the other? Enjoy some bacon😉
As we neared home, I fell asleep. I crossed left of center and woke up with my van facing square at an oncoming mailbox. I jerked the wheel in time to (mostly) miss the mailbox. I hit it with my mirror, shattering the glass. It was only a mirror I lost, but seeing my two little boys’ shocked faces in the back seat reminded me of what I could have lost that day.
