Kids… Kid events… sometimes they excite me, and sometimes the only way I can get myself out the door is remembering that “this too shall pass.” A quote my mother made famous in my life for as young as I can remember. Ugh! That phrase that I heard so often out of my sweet mother’s mouth. That phrase that resonates in my own head so often now as an adult. “This too shall pass.” I think of it when there are tough situations in my life, and I think of it as I did last night as I was mentally preparing myself to go sit in my 3rd grade daughter’s elementary school cafeteria while she danced in the gym with as many glow paraphernalia that would fit on her little body. Woooohooo I thought. Nothing could feed my soul more after a week of nights not being home til after 9pm like an elementary school dance would. And yet, I heard my Mom’s voice. And perspective, and my daughter’s smile, persuaded me to put on my own smile, fill up my cup with Diet Dr. Pepper, and head out the door. While this phrase is absolutely true, as we grow older, and challenges find solutions, and we get beyond certain hardships, it is not found in the Bible. We find in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 a verse that might closely resemble the meaning behind this popular phrase, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.“ I promise you I’ve had my share of life challenges, and maybe I’ll share more with you in time. However, this time, the phrase that is embedded into my mind, and fits last night’s exhausted Mom attitude, is more accurately reflected in Psalms 118:24, and says “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” And so with my Diet Dr. Pepper, and this verse on my heart, I walked into the cafeteria, sit down, and see a dear friend I haven’t caught up with in months. Those two hours, flew by, and I left that smelly room, feeling refreshed and grateful for this silly dance that I didn’t want to go to. Thank you Jesus.
I would love to hear your “This too shall pass” story!
