"...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:13)
The last week of my life has been crazy...Last Saturday I took my first solo roadtrip with our three kids to Nashville. It's a 12 hour drive and worth every minute to get to Grandad and Grandmo's house, and hang with Aunt Dycee too. However, my two younger children, Jude and Grace, get carsick and we had four vomit fests before stopping at a Walgreen's in Texarkana for some dramamede. It works wonders...lots of sleeping kiddos.
Our time in Nashville was incredible and on Wednesday we loaded up to head home. Dramamede was given to Jude and Grace and the ride went super smooth this time...until we got to Texas and realized that we were heading straight for hail, torrential rains and tornadoes. Oh what fun with three kids. We ended up hunkering down in a Wal Mart in Rockwall with other weary travellers as tornado sirens blared, lights went out and I pretended to be on the most fun and exciting adventure (as any good mom would, knowing the effects of mommy panic on kids).
This weekend has been a whirlwind too. I worked on Thursday and Friday, shuttling the kids to my moms and Mother's Day Out. Saturday we bought a $20 pool from Wal Mart (I had noticed it while browsing during the tornadoes) and swam all afternoon in the backyard. We awoke early this Sunday morning to do what the Hooks family always does...the "church-a-thon". Jacob and I are greeters before the 8am service, worship (in which we took Jude for the first time to get a taste of what is to come...it went pretty well), Sunday School, the new 20somethings department that Corey and I are directing (makes me feel old to type that), and a swim party afterwards. Wow. All of this chaos creates a little bit of child mayhem. Grace can sure turn on a tantrum here and there and tell you, "No" a million times over. Jude pooped in the pool twice today, threw up once because he drank too much water, urniated all over our hosts' sidewalk and then we had just plain overstayed our welcome at that point. I have been a less than wonderful mommy...snapping easily....feeling the pressure...throwing prayers for strength to God every chance I get...wondering what will get thrown at me next...some quicksand???? I'm already in it up to my eyeballs.
It is right about this meltdown dragging kids out of pool moment as I jump in my car and decide to never return to that house that I look in the backseat: Grace is in the midst of a tantrum because she wants a doughnut (where did that come from?) and Jude is eating a leftover french fry (I don't even want to know where that came from) and hitting Grace because she put her foot on him that I see Jacob. He is sitting there. Quiet. Smiling. Helping. Being himself in the midst of this loud loud family.
I don't know if God gave you a kid like Jacob. God sure blessed us with our Jacob. He is the kid that you can tell to put shoes on his little sister or clean her face in the backseat because she has thrown up again. He is the brother who will always make sure Jude holds a hand crossing the parking lot. Jacob always brushes his teeth twice a day, he gets dressed easily, he gets out of a pool that he is totally enjoying without a tearshed. He is your five year old "rock" on a solo roadtrip and the wingman during Wal Mart filled tornadoes. He is not perfect, but he is perfectly willing to help out and pitch in at a moments notice. It was his idea to be a greeter at church because he wanted a "job at church". He is the kid who has good manners, is not a picky eater and will clean up his plate or his room without hesitation on most days. He is, in this loud and chaotic family, the kid whose good deeds and attitude go so unnoticed that I fail to see it until a week of my five year old being amazing goes by and God taps me on the shoulder and says, "Acknowledge Jacob." God is at work in all my children...in all of us too. But the way that God is at work in Jacob will probably get overlooked alot. Jacob may not ever have the wild and crazy stories the rest of the Hooks family has, and he may not hear how God has changed him, but oh how God is IN him. Oh how God works in this amazingly sweet, compliant, good hearted little boy. I may never remember to say it at the right time, but I hope I say it enough after the daily rollercoaster rides are over, "Jacob, God is at work in you willing you to act according to His good purpose and it is a blessing all over my life".
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