Tonight was a good reminder of how much prayer can help.

Frustration Built

The youngest is officially in a toddler bed now instead of a crib. You can probably imagine how fun it is for him to get out of bed and attack his siblings instead of going to sleep at bedtime. The last couple of nights turned into removing him completely from his bedroom and holding him as he falls asleep in either my or my husband’s arms.

Tonight when I was holding him, I was feeling frustrated. I have a list of things I need to do. Dinner was loud and chaotic. He threw a ball in the living room and hit the TV. So I wasn’t having a great night. Then, instead of going to sleep so I could start working on my list of tasks to get done before it got too late and I needed to go to bed, he decided to act like a 3-year-old (go figure). And I needed to hold him to get him to fall asleep.

But Then I Prayed

But then it popped into my head that this was a good time for prayer . I prayed for him, his brother, and his sister for about 5-10 minutes (it wasn’t a long period of time). And my focus shifted from, “There’s so much on my list I want to get done,” to, “I get to snuggle with my precious baby boy, who rarely slows down long enough for me to hold like this anymore.”

Talking to God about my kids helped me let go of my frustration and instead enjoy snuggling with this little boy who is probably my last baby. And now I feel at peace, despite the fact that I didn’t cross anything off my list.

It was a good reminder I need to turn to God more, especially when I’m frustrated, tired, overwhelmed, and all the other hard feelings.