"When Does the Joy Come?" (Life Through Noah's Eyes, Part I)

This morning, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  Noah was having a meltdown because he couldn't reach the cereal.  We're working on his problem solving skills, so even though the easiest thing to do would have been to reach for it myself, or tell him how to get the box down, I couldn't.   I had to wait for Noah to figure it out on his own, even if it meant he starved until lunch.  He is perfectly capable, there was no reason other than stubbornness for the meltdown.  Avery bit Noah during his own temper tantrum. Oh good, it appears he has all of his teeth now.  Time out for Avery, ice for Noah.  Breakfast was burning, my morning dose of caffeine wasn't loading fast enough, I was wondering why I got up in the first place, and things were going haywire rather quickly.  While I contemplated either banging my head against the wall or smashing it in a cupboard, I glanced up and saw the sign someone had given me at Avery's baby shower.

"May Peace and Love Fill This Home."

I was sure there as a blog post in that moment, I really was.  Instead of banging my head against the wall, I hid in the shower until Shawn had sorted most of the problems out.  Yay me!  Anyway,  I never did 'find' my blog post in our morning fiasco and my teaching moment came much later in the day, courtesy of Noah, minus the meltdown.  

Listening to the radio while getting lunch ready, the song "Before the Morning" by Josh Wilson came on.  Noah looked at me, as he does sometimes will all the weight of the world on his shoulders, and asked, "Mom, when DOES the joy come?"  Thinking we might finally be talking about why he has AS and other kids don't (he has yet to ask), I asked him what he meant.  My son always surprises me.  Instead of what I was expecting, he said, "Why is there so much hurt in the world?  I mean, why do we have to have war?  Why do bad things have to happen?  Why do there have to be bad people?"  Now the weight of the world was on MY shoulders.  I said, "Well Noah, I don't know the answers to those questions.  What I DO know is that for us, the joy comes in our Lord.  The joy comes every morning when we wake up, take that first deep breath and get to put our feet on the floor.  The joy comes in the first morning hug and the first morning smile.  The joy comes in knowing that what is important to us aren't things, but the people we love and can count on."  Thankfully, he seemed satisfied with those answers.

And now, I remember why I got up in the first place this morning:  Because even though I really wanted to bang my head against a wall, they really do bring me joy.  They are the reason I take that first deep breath and the reason my feet hit the floor.

Psalm 30:5:  "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."  (NIV)

Dear Friends, May peace and love fill all of your homes, today and always.  May you always find the joy in the morning.