It began as the perfect summer Saturday. Joining sticky hands around the breakfast table, we thanked God for the sunrise. And the cheesy omelettes created from scratch. Two-year-old Rachael flashed me a three-toothed smile. “Daddy,” was all she said. I knew what she meant. “Great omelette, Dad. You sure are somethin’ else.”
Ever since our three little blessings entered our home, we learned to seize moments like these. Peaceful moments. The calm before the scream.
Grabbing my omelette with both fists, the Angel Rachael hangs it from her little brother. Within seconds, milk is everywhere. Hollering ensues. The kind that peels paint. I stand quickly to resolve the situation, banging my left knee hard on the underside of the table. Clutching at the wound, I accidentally smack my knuckles on the sharp table edge.
My wife Ramona appears from the bathroom. “Hey, who put grape jelly on my hairbrush?” she asks.
“Me,” admits Stephen, the eldest, smiling.
“You ready to go?” Ramona is looking my way with her eyebrows raised.
“I was thinking of a round of golf,” I offer, feebly.
Now I remember what I’ve tried so hard to forget. On Wednesday she scheduled me for a Little Procedure. I am to see the doctor in an hour.
“It’s really nothing,” she assures me. “Just snip-snip.”
The screaming is louder now. The phone rings.
It is a telemarketer. I hang up on him. The phone rings again. I pick it up. I yell, “We’re having breakfast alright? Call back in 2012!” It is my mother-in-law this time. Thankfully, she is laughing.
“Will you come over for lunch?” she asks.
“Be there in an hour,” I promise. “Keep me in the will…please?”
“But what about The Procedure?” Asks my wife as I hang up.
“Next Saturday,” I reply, “It’s really nothing. Just snip-snip.”
Climbing into our recently acquired car, I smack the doorjamb hard with my eyebrows. Tears come to my eyes.
This is the funniest thing the kids have seen since the Roadrunner. I can see them pinching each other with delight in the rear-view mirror—despite the swelling.
“How much farther?“ says four-year-old Stephen. “I gotta go.”
We are five miles out of town and nearing the crest of a hill. Suddenly, the tape machine dies. So does the engine. I bang the steering wheel with my sore knuckles as we coast to a halt. “Dog biscuits! Engine trouble!”
“It’s the gas thingee,” says Stephen. “I was watchin’ it.”
“Daddy,” he asks, “Where’s the gas station?”
Good question. I’ve been asking the same question. Perhaps you’ve asked it, too. Where do you go when you’re running on empty? When you badly need a jump-start, an oil change, and a tune-up? When the one-minute devotional is too long? When you’ve locked the bathroom door, but toddlers push their tiny lips under it and yell, “I know you’re in there!”
Here are three simple keys that helped us find the missing peace:
1. Learn to Walk
We get so busy running, we forget to walk with God. But life is not a sprint—it’s a marathon. Remember: the housework will always be with you, the children will not. Place a short devotional book or Bible in your bathroom. Don’t feel guilty if it takes you a week to complete one paragraph. Take a humour walk. Don’t come home until you’ve laughed about something.
2. Seize the Evenings
Whenever possible, keep your schedule free after dinner. Our children are young adults now and I’m convinced our relationship with them is strong in part because we often said no to the demands of others—to take delight in them. We discovered that TV wired our kids, but books helped them unwind. We invested in Bible picture books and ended each evening reading together on the sofa. If your children are young, cherish these sticky moments. Soon they’ll be teenagers. The only way you’ll be able to keep them home is to let the air out of their tires!
3. Live on Your Knees
Recently I asked myself, “When was the last time my children saw me on my knees when I wasn’t looking for the remote control?” How about you? When Jesus was inundated by a thousand demands, He often took time out to pray. So go where Jesus went: to the Father. There is no better place to find peace, power, and purpose for living. Do your children know you pray for them? When I was tempted to stray from God, I could not erase the memory of my mother praying for me. God answered her prayers. He will answer yours too as you walk humbly with him.
Now I’d better go. My wife says I’m scheduled for a little procedure.
