Attack

let me set the stage for you:

sparkle has the flu...in summer, i know

she wants me to hold her all.day.long

peach finds some water balloons stashed in the waaaaay back of a cupboard

the joyful INSISTING begins....

pleaaaaaaase, can we do water balloons???!?!?

momma, it will be sooooooo fun!

let's get daddy when he comes home!

can i honestly tell you that i wanted to spend the brief moments of naptime bending over the mosquito-infested spigot outside about as much as i wanted a fork in my eye?

okay, yes, we will do water balloons after i hang up the laundry and take out the garbage and go to the bathroom and....

you'll have to be patient, okay?

okay!

okay okay okay okay!

YAY!!!!!!!

momma, are you ready to fill up those water balloons?

you're not? it's okay.  i'll do it.

um.  no.

i'll be right there.

leave the laundry.

and the garbage.

quick stop in the bathroom where they BOTH had to watch and ask what was taking so long.

alright, here's the deal.

you two go play and i will fill them up.

YES!!!!!

i bend over to fill the first balloon.

which pops in my face as i thwart 16 mosquitoes from my legs and arms.

here they come.

momma, are they done yet?

no.

breathe.

sometimes we have to wait for good things.

replay this scenario about 82 times and you can replicate my experience with my children last week.

heaven help me.

i did get a few filled.

and an aching back.

and welts the size of Scott county on my arms and legs.

but the beautiful thing about it is that a year ago, this would have send my stress level soaring.

i would have been angry and maybe even given up.

but God is gently teaching me to worship Him in it all.

i GET to do this for my kids.

halleluia

her joyful chasing and his attack face made it worth the effort

the craziest part is that when all was said and done, tulip cowered in the corner and refused to participate in the fruit of my hard work.

i felt the anger creeping up.

WHAT?!?!  that took me an hour!

you asked me to do it!

you fussed 46 times in 47 minutes that i wasn't going fast enough.

but i don't have to live there.

the old is gone.

the new has come.

and in this house, we're learning to live in the goodness of God...

where we are so unbothered by the attacks of the enemy that, eventually, he doesn't even try any more.

it is written that we are seated in the heavenly realms, FAR above the problems and stresses of this world.

it's a good view from up here.

;)