Philippians 4:13

Yesterday was the first day back to the full-on, post-holiday schedule. Mark is back at work, Elijah is back at school and I am back at the gym. On Sunday night, I was certain that this had the potential to be the worst week ever (I'm exaggerating, of course). In a desperate attempt to start the week off on the right foot, I began tidying up around the house before bed, and found myself scrubbing a toilet at about 11 o'clock at night. I had gotten a strange "second wind" that helped me to get several things done around the house, but not without keeping me up until after two in morning.

Not a smart thing to do when you have to wake up early in the morning for the first time in nearly 3 weeks.

God was good, however, and I was up yesterday, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I got the kids up, dressed and fed a nice, healthy, warm breakfast. I got all of our beds made before heading out the door and, after dropping Elijah off at preschool, met Katie at the gym. I got home and showered with enough time to go pick up Elijah from preschool (with a wet head), and home again just in time for me to crash into a brick wall. All of a sudden my late night caught up with me and I was sleepy.

Fortunately it was almost lunch time, so I fed the kids lunch, got them down for naptime/quiet rest time, and put my feet up in front of the TV. I started to feel a little guilty until I realized all that I had accomplished in the previous 12 hours (or so). My bathrooms were both clean, my kid's toy cupboard was cleaned out and reorganized. The house was tidy, the kitchen cleaned of the mess from breakfast and lunch, and the boys were both well taken care of. I had made it to the gym, which was enough of an accomplishment all by itself. God had given me the energy and the discipline to do all that was needed of me yesterday and reminded me that it was okay rest once I was done.

This is going to be yet another rough week in the Moeller household. Mark is even more behind at work because of the snowstorm last week and January is already a crazy month for him at work because of year-end. He will leave for work every day at his usual time of 5 AM and get home sometime around 10 or 11 PM. I wish I was exaggerating. This means he will get little sleep and will not see the boys all week. Which means that the boys will not see him. It breaks my heart for them, and I know this weekend they are going to have a lot of "boys" time. Until then, I am a "single parent" this week and I'm not looking forward to it.

God blessed me yesterday and reminded me that he will sustain me through it. Will I get tired? Yep. But He will remind me that it's okay to rest. Will I get everything done that I want to do? No. But I'll get everything done that I NEED to do. Will I miss Mark? Yep. But Mark will be home eventually. I will crawl my way through this week on my knees in prayer and be all the better for it when it's over. When God reminded me this weekend of how much He loves me, He also reminded me of how much sweeter life is with Him in it. It's not any easier, but it is so much better feeling like as I tackle weeks like this one, I am not alone.