Have you ever had a day like Alexander’s, a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? From the moment Alexander wakes up everything goes south. He finds gum in his hair, he trips on his skateboard, there is no prize in his box of breakfast cereal, the dentist finds a cavity, the elevator door closes on his foot, he gets pushed into a mud puddle by Anthony and then gets punished by his mom for being muddy and fighting his brother, and to top it all off he has to eat lima beans for dinner. All Alexander wants to do is move to Australia.
Your story may be a little different than Alexander’s, but it’s still counts as a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The kids didn’t sleep, the seizures won’t stop, your spouse or partner won’t communicate, the aide didn’t show up, the kids on the bus were mean, the teacher is bullying your child, the insurance company won’t pay for the new and desperately needed adaptive equipment, your request for extra support was denied at the last IEP meeting, and to top it all off you had to eat lima beans for dinner. Right about now a move to Australia sounds just dandy.
Sadly, having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day is a part of living in a world that is comprised of both beauty and brokenness. No one is exempt from it. The question is how do you deal with it? Do you run and hide and hope it will all go away? Do you try to numb the pain with alcohol, drugs, or some other addiction? Do you lash out at your husband or wife, blaming them for the deterioration of your marriage and the dream of the perfect family? From personal experience I can tell you none of these are helpful or productive solutions.
As I look back and remember some of the worst, horrible, no good, very bad days we had caring for David, the only thing that held us together was our faith in a God who is always loving, always present, never limited in power, never changing, and not a bully. Often it felt as if he wasn’t loving or present or powerful, but that was simply my feelings and not truth. Almost daily I had to consciously place my hope in the one things that didn’t change and that was God who loved me, David, and my family.
Last week our good friend Shari Freyer stopped over and said, “You have to listen to this new song by MercyMe. It makes me think of your story and of David.” I hope you take a few minutes to listen to it and that it will help you if you are experiencing a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It is a lot cheaper than flying to Australia. Praying for your ability to believe that God loves you extravagantly.
PS: If all this talk about lima beans has made you hungry, here is a link to an article in the NY Times entitled, “Who Says You Can’t Love Lima Beans.” There are a couple great recipes you should try. https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/who-says-you-cant-love-lima-beans/?_r=0