The Sand Man

Last Saturday. Matthew and I were crawling into bed, reflecting on the day. Almost nothing had gone according to planned. I didn't accomplish anything planned in the morning. We pulled two ticks off of Emily, one tick off of Megan and two ticks off me that day. Then, we had a birthday party in the afternoon that was fun, until Megan ended up with a HUGE splinter in her foot, which brought us home and ended up with Matthew using "surgical" skills to successfully remove a piece of it before Megan vomited. He decided that he could do no more for the "patient" who seemed to be in considerable pain, so this remaining piece of splinter (about a half-inch long and buried deep in her big toe) would have to remain in her toe. Supper was late. We had to drive back into town to get communion ready for the next morning, which meant that we didn't get all of Saturday night baths done, and got to bed late. Eli had a hard time falling asleep because he has been getting a tooth. After an hour of rocking Eli and swinging with him on the porch, he finally fell asleep. It had been a long day, and I dreaded getting up the next morning for church because I had no clothes laid out and baths were still needed in the morning. As I was cleaning up the kitchen at 11 p.m., Matthew announced that the air conditioner was not blowing out cold air. He worked on the problem for an hour, and could not fix the problem. The temperatures had been in the mid-90's earlier in the day, so it was still hot outside. So we opened windows and turned on fans to cool the house after one of the hottest days of the year so far. Nothing had gone as I had planned it out in my mind when my feet hit the floor earlier that morning. As Matthew and I talked about the day, it seemed that we could not find anything positive. 


I opened up our devotion book entitled A Devotional Night Light for Parents, by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson, and this is what we read together.

The Sand Man

Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 
Colossians 3:16

It's easy enough to express our gratitude to God when He graciously blesses us with many good things. But on those days when everything seems to go wrong, a grateful heart is harder to come by.

I'm reminded of a story by Gigi Graham Tchividjian about the time she decided to fix up the large family sandbox for her six energetic children. She called the local sand company, and a truck soon arrived. To Gigi's dismay, the truck began making deep trenches in the grass. The ground was soft from recent heavy rain. As the driver maneuvered, the truck also broke off several branches from overhanging trees.

Then it happened. The sand truck got stuck. The more the driver accelerated, the deeper he sank, until the truck began sliding down the hill, plowing a gaping hole. An hour later, a tow truck arrived. This driver backed around and hooked up to the first truck, leaving more black trenches. He tugged and pulled, breaking sprinkler pipes, splintering branches, and uprooting small trees in the process. It was no use. Both trucks were stuck. Eventually, truck number three arrived -- the cab of an eighteen-wheeler.

That night, after five-and-a-half hours of mass destruction, the three trucks departed. Gigi was left with a yard that looked like a war zone and bills for five tons of sand and two tow trucks. The day had been a disaster. But when she tucked in her eight-year-old for the night, she was astonished at his prayer: AAnd thank you, Lord, for the exciting day and all the entertainment we had!" 

There are times when we feel we could do with a little less "excitement" and "entertainment" in our lives. But the Lord knows best, and He directs us to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). That's a godly perspective worth remembering -- on the bad days as well as the good.

WOW! I had to laugh at this story, and then reflect on our own day. I thanked God that Megan ran her first full mile earlier in the morning, and remembered how much I enjoyed sharing that time with her. Emily taught me a new game on the computer, and I was thankful that I spent time with her. I had to rejoice in the sweet boy who celebrated his 7th birthday, and thank God for his precious life and contagious smile. I had to thank God for a treasured conversation I had with his older sister while filling water balloons for the party. I was thankful that Megan was resting peacefully despite her painful toe. I thanked God that Eli is a healthy little boy who would soon have another beautiful pearly white tooth in his smile. I treasured the time we had with Matthew that afternoon, since he is usually working on Saturday afternoons, but took time off to attend the birthday party with us. Emily and Megan had so much fun playing on the slip-and-slide at the birthday party, and I was thankful for our friends. They have just moved into a beautiful new house, and I thanked God for providing a new home for them. We spent time serving God, and I was thankful for a small way to serve Him. In the morning we would worship, and what a privilege! I was thankful that I have a supportive husband and three wonderful children. How blessed we are!!

So, now a few days later, Megan's splinter is completely out, and Eli has a new tooth. The house is tidied up and life is back to normal, which this summer seems to mean BUSY. But I have been reminded to show gratitude to God on the bad days as well as the good days. God's grace is new every morning, and his blessings really are overwhelming.