I'm writing this in the hopes that I'm not the only one who experiences it. In fact, I know I'm not because I heard Shannon Perry mention it at our women's retreat in April, to much laughter and applause. You know what I'm talking about.
You get up on Sunday Morning, your aim to be a Godly parent and get your family to Church. You succeed, but along the way, you've screamed at them 800 times for various reasons, such as not putting their shoes on fast enough or eating their cereal to slowly or breathing.
Maybe you started out in a good mood but if you are like me and slept in instead of doing your quiet time, you are in a bad mood. So, you yell at your kids all your way to Church but when you get out, you are all smiles. In an instant, you become the perfect Christian mother and give your kids whiplash from the attitude turnaround.
My problem is not so much yelling at my kids on the way to Church. I get that all out of the way in the five minutes after I get up - then I give myself a good talking to, pray for forgiveness (because I slept in & missed quiet time) and get in an attitude of worship. We even have some pretty good convos about God on the way there, my girls & I.
No, no. My problem is Sunday afternoon. I achieve such a high level of connection with my Lord, my girls & my fellow church-goers during Church that I melt down sometimes afterwards. Ironically, when I'm supposed to have the highest level of peace, their childish banter & discord really get on my nerves to the point that I should just rent a pew. Then I wouldn't have to come home to the real world of young children and household chores.
This week, I've been chewing on Psalm 34:8. It's been marinating around so perhaps I need to ask The Holy Spirit why. I like The Message's version, "Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him."
I guess I need to remember how good He was to me all morning long (indeed all the time) and run to Him in the times during my Sundays that aren't so good. Vertical Focus, right? (That is the title of my book after all!)
For me, this is where the rubber meets the road. When the real world creeps in, how do you stay on your game of faith?
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