FOR PARENTS – thank God for the mud!

Recently I went on a field trip with my son Quad and his pre-school class to the pumpkin patch. Just to give you some sort of an idea of what this trip was like; it had rained almost every day the prior 16 days…so to describe that place as muddy is a vast understatement. It was sooooo MUDDY! There was not one place we could step without our feet sinking into squishy, mushy grass and mud. I honestly don’t think I have ever been somewhere (on purpose) that had that much mud. LOL!

Well, it probably goes without saying that a class full of four-year olds thought that this was the absolute best place to be. My son, even without a pair of goulashes on, splashed in every mud puddle, visited every muddy farm animal pen, ran multiple times through the muddy hay maze, climbed a huge, soggy wood chip hill (and ran down it countless times), rode the muddy hay ride (where we were warned that the tractor may get stuck), and let’s not forget, picked a muddy pumpkin. He had a ball and I truly had a blast playing with and watching him.

While there, however, I overheard some comments from a few other parents. One warned me as I walked in, “It is too muddy to have the kids here!” Another said, “This is just ridiculous!” Many complained about the mess their children were – mud-splattered coats, shoes soaked through to their socks, pant cuffs turning from blue to dark brown (believe me, you can forget about the cuffs of their pants!). So many chaperoning parents (from other schools I must add – not our wonderful pre-school!) were disappointed in the condition the pumpkin patch was in and the brown blurs their children were becoming. I was unsure how to respond to them; I mean I was quite enjoying watching Quad splash and run in the mud. I splashed and ran with him as a matter of fact. My perspective was quite different – I had never been on a field trip with my child before and with this being his last year before going to school, I was so thankful to have the freedom in my schedule to go with him. It was SUCH a joy and I was so blessed for it.

Now, I’m not writing to talk about how unthankful these “other” parents were about being at the pumpkin patch with their child. On the contrary, listening to these other parents complain actually made me repent about all of the things in my life I took for granted but needed to be thankful for. For example, I relocated to Chicago from Florida and every since I have been here, I have complained about the weather. How much better would it be for God’s ears if I thanked Him for giving me the opportunity to live in the same city as my parents and sisters? Another example (I could go on an on folks…): when we moved here to Chicago, we moved into a small two bedroom condo which was probably less than half the size of our three bedroom home in Florida. Oh, hear me when I say I complained about that one! Once again, how much better would it have been for me to thank God for allowing us to live in that condo rent free for almost two years!

I know there are a lot of things that happen in our lives that are crappy…or even tragic for that matter. The Bible tells us the following:

John 16:33 (AMP)
In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration;

Trouble is a part of life. We all know what it is and we have all experienced it. There is nothing good or joyful about going through trouble. Whether it is in our finances, our relationships, with our children…trouble ain’t fun.

But, the last part of this verse says this:

…but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Because Jesus has overcome the world and the trouble this world brings, there really is no circumstance or situation that I come across that I cannot give God thanks in…because according to this verse Jesus has deprived it of power…and in the end I win. This is applicable even with whatever you may be going through with your teenager. Isn’t it wonderful to know that no matter what it is, the power satan would like to give to it has been taken away by our Lord? Wow. That should minimize your issue down to itty bitty when you look at it like that.

When you look at life through these eyes, not only does a muddy pumpkin patch and dirty four-year old kid not disturb you, the other nuisances of life should be small in our sight as well. What a blessing it is to have our families, our children, our jobs, our homes…whatever it is, you fill in the blank; and it doesn’t matter if we are not in the exact place in life that we envision ourselves to be. Whatever place life has us, let’s take Jesus’ advice and “be of good cheer.”

So, in this season of Thanksgiving, take inventory of your life. List all of the good that you can, and give God thanks. For the not so good things, know that God has overcome them and still give Him thanks for doing that for us. Don’t let the trouble in life rob us of the joy the good in life brings.

16 days of rain + dirt + four-year old = one big mess!
Four-year old in muddy pumpkin patch + parent watching = JOY!

I thank God for it.