10,000 Reasons

I've had the song 10,000 Reasons resurfacing periodically in my soul over the last couple years- somewhere between the competing daily renditions around me of Old McDonald, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and my two-year old's latest a cappella version of the musical score from Star Wars.  I hear it quietly at first... and then it builds to full volume somewhere in the back of my brain and as I hear the words, I blink and refocus at my surroundings.  It kind of reminds me of the scene from The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy suddenly steps out of the house after the storm and her world is transformed from black and white into full color.

We all know that every day there are 10,000 reasons to be stressed, afraid, angry, and downright cynical with life.  During this morning's rush to get three little people and myself out the door it seemed like every zipper got stuck, every shoe was missing, every ounce of compliance to obey disappeared, and in our triumphant moment of arriving at school only slightly late- the baby has a blow-out diaper on cue in the parking lot and we discover the box of wipes is empty.  In the short time between first opening my eyes this morning and now, I feel as though I've already had a million moments of repetitive frustration.

But then quietly I hear it, "Dear one, how very much you need my grace! And I have more than enough... "  Seriously, people... just like that.  Grace.  And that's only ONE of the 10,000 reasons we could come up with just today. So in the chaos of the day, in whatever stresses or fears are distracting my focus from the Lord, I blink away the colorless pit (where I put myself, by the way) and the explosion of joyous color almost knocks me over.  Look! I have warm food to eat.  Look! I have a cozy home full of more than I could possibly need.  Look! I have these beautiful little people with sticky fingers and stuck zippers hanging on my leg and they are incredible.

So when you see me...rushing because I'm late...with my unwashed hair, my kids in mismatched socks and crumbs on their cheeks, know that my smile is genuine as we are celebrating our victories and praising God for our blessings instead of focusing on the things that aren't going so great today.  We keep doing our best and sometimes that looks like complete chaos, other times it looks a little more "put together," but it's always perfect because Jesus is perfect and He is the one we are chasing after with all our hearts. 

"The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds obey him!"
Matthew 8:27