Splinters and Sprains

Some of you are facing the darkest times of your life:  the death of a loved one, financial ruin, crippling sickness, and a myriad of other things that I cannot truly understand.  This blog is not for you.  There are others who have waded through the same waters you are in that could perhaps offer words of solace, but anyone who has not walked that road with you could only offer trivial encouragement.

This blog is for the rest of us, who are facing things like: traffic, strep throat, cranky toddlers, political ridiculousness, cranky preteens, financial strain,  weather that’s too cold, weather that’s too hot, misunderstandings, messes, disappointing sporting events,  too many things on the calendar, wet sheets, coming up with a dinner plan, tennis elbow, mud on a clean floor, the Internet connection going out, out of control property taxes, school projects and plenty of other things that steal our joy.

I like to refer to these issues as the splinters and sprains of this life.  They are not a broken bone, just a sprain.  Yet sometimes we respond like they are life changing obstacles we are courageously hurdling over, instead of admitting that they are really only nuisances in our lives.

My husband and I have recognized that many of the nuisances in our lives actually come from the greatest joys in our lives.  Our roof needs to be fixed, because we own a home.  Our kids drive us crazy, because we are blessed with children.  Our cars break down, because we have cars.  So many do not have these luxuries we enjoy and would love to experience the things we do, and yet we complain about them.

Why is it that we allow seemingly insignificant things to rob us of our joy?  We are too busy worshiping our convenience and comfort to see our problems for what they are.

I am griping about my child’s pink eye and how it ruined my weekend plans (annoyance), but what about the parents who are watching their child battle cancer (heartbreak)?

I am complaining about my neighbor’s dog pooping in my yard (frustration), but what about the family who just lost their house to foreclosure (devastation)?

I have been up all night with a teething baby and I can’t handle life (nuisance), but what about the mom who is trying to conceive without any luck (agony)?

We lack perspective.

The solution is to recognize these things for what they truly are: nuisances, annoyances, frustrations, and problems to be solved.  It takes maturity to recognize our splinters and sprains for what they are and not turn them into gaping wounds and compound fractures.  I often fail at this.  My problems seem insurmountable and I sigh with a breath of exhaustion.  Upon further examination, I have nothing to really be overwhelmed by, it’s just my attitude.

Sometimes when things are not going right for one of my children, I will overhear extreme declarations such as, “I have the worst life, ever.”

This happened recently and when I pressed the child to find out why his life was so awful, it boiled down to the fact that he has PE on Mondays and we keep having off school on Mondays and so there is really no point in going to school anymore and yet we still expect him to go.  Very.  Rough.  Life.

My challenge to us all is to find joy.  It’s there.  Sometimes buried under a mountain of laundry or a pile of dirty dishes, but it is there.  And then choose to focus on it.  Of course our lives are not perfect and there will still be those things that come along and try to distract us away from what really matters, but choose joy anyway.

Because chances are, someday it will be the broken bone, not the sprain that you are dealing with.  And thank God that it’s not today.

Some “Splinters and Sprains” from this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  Before you call social services on me, picture one was caused by a bike accident,  picture two a pull up bar accident and picture three, a collision between brothers.  Ah, life with boys.