Peace? What's That?

"May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace."    -Numbers 6:25-26

Did you know the Lord has called us to live a life of peace?  Peace is hard to come by at my house.  Just yesterday, I wanted to take the boys out for ice cream to get them out of the house.  Everything was peaceful until I had a plan.  In just a minutes time, I went from being totally prepared and having my wits about me to absolutely losing control.

As soon as I started trying to gather everything to leave, my oldest two couldn't find their shoes.  My baby started screaming to the top of his lungs because all of the sudden he was famished!  My friends were meeting me in less than thirty minutes and I wasn't dressed, my hair was a mess, and my makeup was zilch!

As I am texting my friend to tell her that fifteen minutes later than the original time would be better for me, the oldest two are fighting over a toy and yelling for something to drink because they are "so thirsty".  They can't come into the room where I am because I am trying to nurse "real quick".  In order for me to hear them from the other room, they just scream as loud as they can.  Cash, our really big puppy, notices we are leaving soon, so he starts running franticly from the front door to the back door as hard as he can.  He loses his balance and runs head on into the metal door over and over again in attempt to remind us he needs to go out before we put him in the crate.  You can imagine the chaos.

After finding the shoes, nursing the baby, gathering our things, curling a few strands of hair, doing my makeup, and walking the dog, we are headed out the door.  I'm not sure why my kids decide to play or argue every time we get into the truck to go somewhere.  It never fails, I always have to remind them to get into their seats, buckle up and stop looking at the other one.  Starting the car, we pull out and we are on our way.

Once we are moving, all is well.  Everyone is distracted by what's going on outside and everything is peaceful again.  I could even call someone and talk on the phone if I wanted to.  But I decide to spend that time thanking the Lord out loud so my kids can hear my desperation, and taking a breather instead.

I find myself in these situations all too often.  I tell myself it's just life.  It's just called "having three kids".  But when I start my day off right and giving it over to the Lord first thing, He makes a masterpiece out of messy day. He helps me to manage my time and be productive when I would otherwise be overwhelmed by the noise and be unable to think clearly.  Whether you are a working career man or woman with no children, a single mother with teenage kids, or a stay at home mom like me...we can all find ourselves grasping for peace in our everyday routines no matter how well we plan.

I just want to encourage you to call on Him and ask the Lord to be your calm today.  There is almost an element of surprise when I notice how well my day goes after I have surrendered it to Him.  He somehow takes what should be chaotic and brings it down several notches  You can call me crazy, but He does it.  I love him so much for that.  I pray blessings over you and a peaceful day today in Jesus' name!