Minus One, Plus One.

Lately, God has been blessing me with many opportunities. For patience with my children especially. (It would be great if God just granted us vast amounts of patience. But that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?)

Sometimes I make the most of these occasions, and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I respond to circumstances impulsively, which is rarely the best choice. Sometimes I remember to take a breath and try my best to reflect His influence in my life.

So far today, my success rate is a wash. Before breakfast, the kids had a fight and I didn’t handle it well. Minus one. We three ate our breakfasts simultaneously, silently, and separately. Parker, who loves sign language, wordlessly but quite clearly stated, “I don’t love you.” To which I calmly replied, “Oh, that’s too bad. But I love you. Now clean up your dishes and brush your teeth.” Plus one.

At this moment, I am simply thankful that God continues to offer me opportunities. Pass or fail, He openly and expectantly invites me to face challenges again and again. He knows that sometimes I’m going to fall short, and I know that He’ll always pick me back up when I do.

Hopefully someday my scorecard will boast more wins than losses. Hopefully someday I will grow up and stop keeping score.