At the end of the day, my patience wears thin, and I am weary. After taking care of three kids, one husband and one self, I just don’t have much left. So shower time can sometimes try my patience.
One evening after supper, I sent my then 7-year-old daughter Grace ahead of me into the bathroom. “Get your clothes off, go to the restroom and then get in the shower. The water is already on and is just the right temperature,” I told her.
“Okay,” she grinned and galloped off on her imaginary horse, dragging her pajamas on the floor behind her. I finished wiping off the kitchen counters and made my way to my bathroom where I expected to find Grace already in the shower with her hair wet and ready to be washed. Instead, I found one little naked girl standing in the middle of the bathroom, staring into my mirror – mesmerized.
I stood and watched a moment, taking a deep sigh, trying to muster some patience. Grace spun and faced the opposite direction, only to gaze at herself some more in the mirror on my husband’s side of the bathroom.
“Mama,” she said, never taking her eyes off herself. “I love it when two mirrors get lined up like that. I can see myself again and again infinity.” Then she giggled. “It’s the best because it’s an army of me’s.”
I looked and saw the reflection of her reflection as the two mirrors faced each other. The little spinning naked girls repeated infinitely above my bathroom sink. I couldn’t help the laughter at her expression “the army of me’s.”
“Did you know there were so many of us?” she said as she galloped towards the shower.
Her question made me think of the story of Elisha and his servant. The servant got up one morning to find their city was surrounded by an army of their enemy. Elisha told him, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than with them” (2 Kings 6:16).Then Elisha prayed for God to open the servant’s eyes. “So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17b).
As parents, sometimes we may wish for an “army of me’s” when we don’t have the energy to bathe little ones and their imaginary ponies. While we don’t have an army of ourselves, we do have an army of the Lord on our side. Pray and ask God to open your eyes to the ways He surrounds you and your children every day.
Thank you, God, for surrounding me with your angels. Open my eyes to see your presence. Amen. {eoa}
Carol Hatcher is a former elementary teacher turned writer. This author and speaker lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Come visit her at sheeptotheright.com.
This article originally appeared at just18summers.com.
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