When the going gets tough…

I can recall several times during my childhood when my Dad would tell me, ”Life’s Tough.” I’m sure I was always complaining about something when he’d tell me that. Let’s just say I had a “flair for the dramatic”. 

 I can see that “dramatic flair” in my kids now. They’re  young, so  it’s just something we’re constantly working on. I ask them to complete a task and half the time what I hear back is complaining. (Little do they know, “Life’s Tough!”). I look at their simple task of picking up shoes or putting away toys and think that it’s nothing compared to managing an entire household.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been in a battle with them to keep their room tidy. I’ve said all the right things, “After you get one thing out, please put it away before moving on to the next thing” and “We need to take care of our things because it’s a privilege to have them”. I’ve made threats and I’ve bagged up their toys. 

After weeks of working on this, nothing seemed to change. I felt defeated, discouraged, and depressed. Then, I realized there was something I wasn’t doing to help me in my tidy room battle.

I was not seeking the Lord for wisdom. I considered the issue of keeping toys put away so simple that I thought I could fix the problem with out His help or that I would be “bothering” Him with my little problem.

The cool thing is, God doesn’t put our problems on levels. He’s a great listener and has perfect advice to give, no matter how small our request.

When life gets tough, are first reactions might be to complain, freak out, or give up. 

Instead of doing all that, we can go to the Bible because ….

 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

{Hopefully there will be a part 2 to this post, where I share about our victory in the tidy room battle}

So, do you have some little battles not being won and will you go to God today and ask Him to help you?

How do you teach your kids to keep their toys picked up?

When the going gets tough, the tough should get going to God for help.

-Erin

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