If The Blog Fits...

Since January, I have blogged about the overly and often unnecessarily theatrical adventures of our two young girls. But last night I was reminded that they’re not the only ones prone to Llama Drama in our house.

I had spent the week obsessing about day-to-day trivialities and focusing on negatives, instead of recognizing and appreciating the positives in my life. I had even begun to feel sorry for myself, in spite of the fact that I have been richly blessed in so many ways.

Then two events happened within minutes of each other last night to change my perspective.

I received an e-mail from one of my college roommates asking me to pray for her friend whose little boy lay dying in a children’s hospital after a long struggle. It was a heartbreaking story illustrating every mother’s worst fear, and it was only a matter of time – perhaps only a few hours – before the friend’s son would leave this world. I cannot imagine the pain and devastation this woman and her family would feel from this overwhelming loss.

Within moments of reading this e-mail, my husband and I heard the tornado sirens and had to go wake our little girls to seek shelter from the storm. Our daughters had never experienced a tornado warning before and were scared and wide-eyed as we huddled together in the closet with a radio and flashlights. I held them just a little bit closer than I normally would, not only to reassure them of their safety but also because the first thing I want to do after hearing sad stories about kids is to hug my own.

Thankfully, we were not directly affected by the tornadoes that hit all around us and impacted so many others, and our girls are presently very healthy – but at any given time, our family could be the one affected by illness, death or disaster. Both the e-mail and the storm warning served as humbling reminders that life is precious and fragile and too short to spend on unimportant things.

I realized that just as I, as an earthly parent, get frustrated with our girls over their whining and fabricated drama, God – as my heavenly Father – must feel the same way about me when I make a big deal out of nothing, lose sight of the larger picture and choose to be ungrateful.

And if God wrote a blog about me, would I really want the theme to be about Llama Drama?