I Wanted Great & Mighty; Instead I Got This.

I'm now an empty nester but when I ran across this in my journal I couldn't resist posting. May it encourage all you mothers of young kids. Keep rowing; you're doing a great and mighty work. We have our own expectations of how we think our life ought to be.What kind of marriage we should have.What kind of house we should live in.What kind of education we should pursue.What kind of kids we should raise.What kind of job position we should occupy.We have expectations and when they don’t line up with what God’s doing in our lives we are discontent.One morning I prayed, “Lord, I know that you are going to do great and mighty things and I want to join in on what you're doing. I want to do things for your kingdom today.”And after I prayed I rolled out of bed and got my kids around for school. It was a smooth morning and by 7:40 we were at the table ready for devotions. Except I noticed Hunter was not paying attention so I asked what the problem was. Well, he had just gotten a new bike the night before and was very anxious to ride it to school that morning. He was worried that his dad might have forgotten to blow up the new bike tires. I told him dad called and said our pump was broke but to take the bike to our neighbor, Mrs. Marie and use their pump. So I continued with our devotions only to see Hunter still wasn’t engaged. What’s the problem? "Well, by the time you finish devotions Marie will have left for work and…"So I called Marie and she informed me her pump was also broke. At which point Hunter started to cry. Now it’s 7:50 so I tell all the kids to get in the truck. I load the bike and off to the gas station we go. Its rush hour so it takes a bit longer than I expected. We make it back to the house by 7:56 (four minutes to get the kids to school). I start to back out of the driveway when Hampton informs me he forgot his backpack. So I pull back in the driveway and he goes to get his backpack.  Okay, so we are good to go. We zoom off to the corner and I notice a little neighbor boy struggling as he pulled his bike along. He has a flat tire. So I stopped. He got in the car while I put his bike in the back.Off we go. When we get to school it’s 8:01. The kids are late. So much for my peaceful morning. As the kids pile out I yelled for Hunter to come over and give me a kiss goodbye. As he leans in the front driver seat the other kids are getting out of the back seat. As Hunter leaned in he put his fingers in the crease of the back door. The kids slammed the door on his fingers.  He starts screaming, the other kids stand there stunned. No one opens the door for Hunter.  I’m thinking, “I am going to open that door and his fingers are going to be cut off.” So from the driver's seat, I lean over to try and open the back door. As I do my foot accidentally slips off the pedal and I slam into the car in front of me.All this to say this is not what I expected when I prayed for great and mighty things. Jesus had something different in mind for me. I wanted great and mighty.  He wanted small and faithful. Perhaps that's what great and mighty looks like."He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much." - Luke 16:10