A few weeks ago, I was fighting a cold. No fever—just enough congestion to make me miserable and fatigue to make me weary. Parenting while sick isn’t for the faint of heart, and so often, our kids know how to take full advantage of the situation. In an instant, we can go from peacefully sitting on the couch, blowing our noses and drinking hot tea to totally falling apart by something our kids say or do. In those times, it feels as if all our inner peace vanishes and a roaring mountain lion takes its place.
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To set the stage, every room in my house was a disaster—not made by me—but by three curly-headed, very curious, little Smith girls who love the creative process (just not so much cleaning it up.)
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They knew mama wasn’t on her A-game (stuffy head and all), so ya know, they snuck away when I asked them to clean up. Then, when they saw I was frustrated with their disobedience, one little curly girl giggled.
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Y’all, she GIGGLED!!!
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Yep, she thought making mama mad was hilarious. I won’t give you all the gory details that followed, but you can imagine how well that went over. I don’t go on tirades and rants often, but give me a stuffy head and fill me up with antihistamines and decongestants—and girl, I’m on a roll.
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By the time it was over, I had three large trash bags sitting by the back door and was looking for more junk to throw out.
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The girls quickly jumped in line, tried to avoid me, and started picking up (finally!) Then, I collapsed on the couch—exhausted from the adrenaline rush and my speed cleaning sprint. (sidenote—not the brightest idea when you’re sick!)
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And that’s where I sat for the next three hours. Blowing my nose. Scrolling through Facebook. Watching random 90s music videos and over-the-top plastic surgery before and after reveals (just keeping it real!)
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So, what’s my point in telling you all of this? Well, it’s that we all have bad days. We all sin. We all fall short of the glory of God. It’s not about getting it right all the time—because we won’t! It’s about Who we cling to when we get it all wrong.
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That morning was a complete disaster. But when the dust settled, my girls apologized and hugged me. And I apologized and hugged them back. They even made their own lunch and offered to make mine.
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And at the end of our worst battles, my girls know I love them, and they’ll always have a soft lap to lay their heads on.
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I’m not a perfect mom. Nor am I always a peaceful mom. I’m simply a mom who tries hard, and more times than I’d like to admit, I fail. But one thing I know for sure is that when I royally mess things up, I can lay my weary head in the lap of Jesus—and find all the peace, rest, forgiveness, and abundant grace I need right there.
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(The picture above is just a corner of my girls’ closet! My entire house looked like this. 🤪)

With love, Macki