My Sweet Sam

It's been a day...actually, the past few days have been tough ones. We travelled to Indiana for Thanksgiving with our extended families - and returned home on Monday. We were all out of sorts, babies sleeping schedule was WAY off, Sam & Luke were tired, Brad was exhausted and facing the end of the semester stuff at school, and everyone was getting a cold. In addition to all of that, I have spent the last three days trying to unpack bags and wash the mountain of laundry. ugh.

I'll be honest and admit that I have not been in a "good" place emotionally or spiritually. I struggled to get my regular quiet time with God while we were away, didn't have access to my praise music to keep my eyes on Jesus, and it was stressful. Returning home to the "hectic" schedule that Brad has this time of year only made it worse. He is wrapping up the classes he teaches (grading papers, final exams, etc...), finishing up a major paper for one of the PhD classes he is taking, and then preparing for an intensive week-long class he will take next week. AGH!!! He has been leaving early, coming home for a few hours at dinner time, and then heading back to the library after the littlest boys are in bed at 7:00 pm. I miss him. Double ugh.

So, I have been struggling to find joy in my work these past few days and I have certainly not been "working as unto the Lord" - more like complaining and griping about every little chore I do. This is not typical of me - and my kids have noticed. Sam asked me why I was grumpy. Luke offered me one of his cookies. :) Such sweet jestures from my little men.

A few months ago, a sweet friend gave me a children's devotional book called, "Step Into The Bible" by Anne Graham. Sam, Luke, and I have been reading it together each night and loving it! It's a short, age-appropriate story from Scripture, a few discussion questions, and a new memory verse each seven days. Tonight, we read about Samuel. My sweet Sam listened intently as I read about Hannah's prayer for a son, God's faithfulness in giving her Samuel, Hannah keeping her promise and giving Samuel back to God, and then God calling Samuel. After we talked briefly about the questions, I prayed. After I finished, Sam covered his face with his hands and said, "God, I thank you Lord....and for praise to you. Help me put all that I learn down in my heart. Amen." Oh, how my weary heart was blessed beyond measure at the sincere prayer of my oldest son - so very wise at the tender age of five. He got a little emotional, which of course brought me to tears! I thanked him for sharing such a sweet prayer, told him that God loved him so much, and shared that his daddy and I were praying that he would someday answer God's calling just like the Samuel in the Bible. Oh, what a blessed day that will be!