Did you take something for it?

You can be sure that anytime I say to my husband, "I have a headache", he will ask "Did you take something for it?" Not only is he a guy, bent on "fixing" things, but he is also a nurse. So "Aw, poor Sweetie, come sit down and let me rub your head" isn't the first thing that comes to his mind. This goes into the issue of me expecting him to read my mind...but that's another subject. :) But of course, I know that rubbing my head most likely isn't going to get rid of my headache. It feels good and I'll like the attention, but it doesn't solve the problem.

This scenario has been going through my mind a lot lately because it has helped me remember to take on my husband's attitude when I face those days...you know, the days when nothing goes as planned, the kids won't stop crying, you burn the food, you run out of clean clothes, and the phone wont stop ringing. Or even just days when you wake up exhausted and everything that gets between you and coffee is at risk of extinction.

I've started asking myself, "Did you take something for it?" And what I mean by that is, do I just want to complain or am I going to do something about it? Am I going to dwell on my negative feelings or am I going to "take captive every thought" (2 Corinthians 10:5) and be willing to change?

When I'm in the middle of feeling overwhelmed or crabby, it's hard to think of just snapping out of it and suddenly changing my mood. Truth is, as any mom of young ones would know, I probably just need a full 24-hour nap and then I'd be the most cheerful person on earth! But that's not going to happen, so instead of ruining the day with crabbiness, I've tried to become intentional about "taking something for it" by doing two things:

#1 Change the atmosphere of my home. As a stay-at-home mom, I feel like I'm the guardian of what comes into my home, specially in the way of media. For example, I love listening to fun jazz; nothing wrong with that. But I've noticed quite a difference when I choose to play worship music throughout the day instead. Without even realizing, words of praise to God are flowing through my head...even as I'm falling asleep at night! It truly changes the atmosphere to a little more peace, a little more patience and grace. What kind of noise is coming from your TV, iPod or radio? What messages is it filling your home with?

#2 Change my perspective in certain situations where I have the tendency to become irritated or impatient. So my nearly two-year-old dumped all his toys right after I cleaned them up? Sometimes it may be a disobedience issue...but sometimes, maybe it's time for Mom to pause the to-do list and get on the floor to play for a while. So people dropped-in unexpectedly or I have to be somewhere and haven't had a chance to shower yet? Well, this is what I really, really look like and thank God for a loving husband and for deodorant!

As dorky as this sounds, I've been thinking "Pollyanna-style" a lot. Things are never perfect and often not even close to what we wish, but what is there to be "glad" or thankful about? I'd rather dwell on that and let it put a smile on my face.

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8