The Cure for Bad Days by Arlene Pellicane

Life is filled with hits and misses. I remember when my son, Ethan, was seven, he was having a particularly amazing day. He saw his children’s pastor get a pie in her face to raise money for missions.  He had friends over to play.  He went on a special date with his grandparents to his favorite hamburger place.  There was much to be grateful for.

Monday was a different story.  He didn’t go to recess because it was raining.  The movie was showing in the multipurpose room which he didn’t like.  He scored poorly on his math minute.  After school we went to the library to pick up his books, but I messed up the date and they were no longer on the hold shelf.  He cried. 

After dinner, I shot hoops with him in the driveway in an effort to cheer him up.  We played horse - I won.  We played again and I won again.  “I can’t find my shot,” Ethan said miserably.  The day ended on yet another sour note.  I opened up a new pack of toothbrushes.  My daughter picked blue, leaving red for Ethan.  “Blue is my favorite color,” he whispered. 

We’ve all had bad days like this – sometimes strung together for months!  There are repeated moments in motherhood where you just can’t find your shot.  Every effort is a miss.  Your discipline doesn’t work.  Bedtime rules were bent yet again.  Your oldest child is having trouble with bullying and it turns out she’s the bully.  Another child isn’t doing homework.  How can you be grateful when your home life seems out of control?

Don’t wait for a more idyllic time in your parenting to pop a Vitamin G.  G as in gratitude.  Gratitude is your secret weapon to immunize your heart from troubles, squabbles, messes, and worries.  If you can find the good in the now and give thanks for it, you will trade anxiety for peace.  Foolishness for wisdom.  Short-sightedness for perspective.    

Psalm 107:8 says, “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!”  

This verse about giving thanks to the Lord for His goodness and wonderful works is repeated four times in Psalm 107 in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31.  That repetition urges us not to forget.  It’s so easy to take things like running water or a warm bed for granted and forget the ways God has provided for your family in the past.  

You can start right now by giving thanks simply for being a mom.  I was telling my daughter, Noelle, while we were doing dishes in the kitchen about my struggle with infertility.  “Did you know that I had a hard time having children?” I asked.  She didn’t know, so I shared with her how I couldn’t get pregnant for a long time. 

Many of you may have experienced a miscarriage or another sorrow in your family story. If you continually put the emphasis on your disappointments in motherhood, you will naturally find much to grumble about.  A bitterness and sadness will settle into your life. But if you constantly highlight the faithfulness of God, you open the door to God’s love, joy and peace to flow through your life.  That’s the power of Vitamin G...gratitude!