By: Lyndsay Crews
I am a hard-core scheduler. (Side note: As long as your kids are happy and healthy, it doesn’t matter whether you’re super scheduled or super laid back. Every parent has a different parenting style.) But nothing makes you wish you were more laid back than Daylight Savings Time change. All of a sudden my kids are hungry for lunch at 10 and we are all ready for bed at 5:30. But the part that really irritates me the most is waking up an hour early. Preschoolers usually have an earlier than desired morning start time anyways…but an hour earlier gives me anxiety just thinking about it. I’m ready to trade my anxiety for joy and thankfulness is the key.
What if we were thankful for more time with our kids when they woke up earlier than expected instead of irritated? What if we were thankful for a doctor and medicine for an ear infection instead of annoyed at the inconvenience? How about thankful for a washer and dryer instead of overwhelmed by the mountain of laundry? See the thought process change? It’s subtle, but thankfulness is the key in defeating joy stealers.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
God’s word lays it out. “Give thanks in all circumstances…”. Today, when something unexpected happens, look for something to be thankful for and say it out loud in front of your kids. Teach them thankfulness and what rejoicing in all circumstances looks like.