Discouragement

There are always things a person has to do in life that are unpleasant, and times when the job seems to never end. I am certain that everyone experiences these things.

My life has those times as well. I usually do not become discouraged over these things, but this morning I did. This morning started out in a very discouraging way. My adult daughter Cassie, who is profoundly retarded, had taken her diaper off, and had diarrhea all over her bed. The smell was something beyond imagination. She glanced at me with that blank stare with a tinge of anxiety, and rocked back and forth. "Oh, Cassie, come and get a bath!" I exclaimed. I ran a bath for her, and she climbed in. While I was getting her bedding into the laundry room, scrubbing her vinyl mattress, the rug, the floor, and putting clean bedding on, I was thinking, actually, about going back to bed. It seems sometimes, that too much of my life is squandered on dirty laundry.

So I went and got into bed, and put the quilt over my head. Talking to God at such a time helps me. I thought about what my mother had taught me about praising God for my trials. So I thanked Him in advance for giving me a good day. After all, this was just a tiny bump in the road. I thanked Him for teaching me more patience than I had in my youth. I asked for a little encouragement. Then I thought, perhaps dirty laundry is good for me. It brings me to God, and sometimes to my knees, which is the best place to be.

* The LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. Isaiah 49 13