Spiritual Muscles

Even as the words came flying out of my mouth I could feel the conviction-
'SHUT UP!!'- words I have never spoken to one of my boys until last night..
Along with the soft voice of conviction came the loud voice of justification- all the reasons why I had said what I did...
Yesterday seemed to be the never ending day- up late with sickness only to be up again at 3 am to rush off to the Emergency Room, followed by the demands of everyday home life, the needs of a toddler, etc... By 10 last night, when those words came flying out of my mouth, I 'felt' like I deserved some peace and downtime- hadn't the day been long enough for all of us.

I immediately apologized but could tell the sting of my words were still there...they couldn't be taken back.  I went to bed last night with the heavy feeling of 'mommy failure'
As the sun was rising this morning I went walking- pouring my heart out to God...I was trying to explain to Him (even though He already knows) how I was feeling...
The visual of a hamster on a hamster wheel came to mind- the hamster frantically running around and around getting no where.  To be honest, most days I feel like I am running on that wheel..
dealing with the same laundry
the same dishes
the same house cleaning
the same whining
the same attitude's
the same self talk that is trying to tell me all the ways I am failing as a mother, as a friend, as a wife.

As I was explaining all of this to the Lord, he brought to mind a picture I had seen of a girl who had been working out.  She took a picture of her leg muscles to show the progress she had made- Those muscles did not just happen overnight...They had taken a lot of hard work and repetition....working on the same area over and over, doing the same thing again and again.

Our seasons of dealing with the 'same' are not wasted.
Those same dishes, that same laundry, cleaning the toilets again and again, the attitude in our child that needs correction for the hundredth time, the self talk that needs to be told God's truth to bring it under His submission again and again...
All of it (you fill in the blank) is not just us running with no purpose on a hamster wheel...

The Lord is allowing us to grow and develop our Spiritual Muscles- The internal muscles we need to navigate through our Christian Walk successfully- Life is not easy, it is demanding and difficult and He knows we need to be prepared...most often this preparation comes our way by the 'same' day after day after day- and usually the 'same' is not something we consider easy.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what Spiritual Muscles look like in a Christian's life...
Love.....the repetition of choosing to love that person instead of letting bitterness take root because they have hurt you for the umpteenth time
Joy...choosing to be thankful for that load of laundry because it means your family has clothes to cover their back- choosing to be thankful that you have to prepare dinner because this means your family has food to fill their stomachs
Peace....Peace that no matter what comes our way today- good or bad- God has it under control and will give us the strength we need to handle it
Patience...when want to run ahead of God and just handle things on our own and in our own time this means we stop and wait....patiently until God shows us the way
Goodness...when our deeds and actions are motivated by virtue and Holiness not self centered motivation that is self seeking
Gentleness....'I love you sweetie and know you've had just as long as a day as mommy' is what I should have said instead of 'SHUT UP!'
Self Control...the action of choosing God's way and completely submitting to His authority

Take heart dear sister as you start your day- not one hard moment is wasted or in vain...