Jesus, help me!

I open my eyes this morning before the alarm goes off, cool. Since we have some family members who have succumbed to illness, I do a quick check of how I feel to see if I have become the latest victim. No, I feel okay. Next, a quick check around the room assures me that everyone slept in their own bed last night. Great, 3 for 3, we are off to a great start. Prayers go well, the water in the shower is hot - this is going to be a great day. And then it happens, I run into another human being who, without really meaning to, says something that just rubs me the wrong way. This, of course, starts the ball rolling and within an hour I find that I am cross with every human being that crosses my path. WHAT HAPPENED????? I did everything right, I lived the "heroic moment" (that's tomorrows post!), I said my prayers, I even looked presentable. Who knows WHY it happens (although being a female, you can always blame it on hormones!). I suppose that isn't even the most important question to ask. What I have to remember when it does happen is "How am I going to continue to respond to it?" There are many times when I just give in to it and then spend the whole day barking at anyone who looks at me. Usually on those days it is sometime later in the evening when I think to myself, "Why didn't you just take five minutes and go into another room and try to recollect?" Unfortunately that thought isn't the first thing to cross my mind. I get so caught up in being grumpy that I don't even want to think about how to get out of it.

Fortunately, today, something (my guardian angel perhaps) made me stop and ask myself why I was behaving this way. Was there really any reason? Did anyone do anything that bad? Have you ever noticed that your mood can set the tone of the whole household? What a responsibility. Thankfully today was a good day because grace prevailed and my disposition towards everyone improved. I have to remind myself, when days or moments like this strike, that there are things I can do to stop them in their tracks. I can go off by myself for a few moments, say a few prayers, pray a spiritual communion, even just say "Jesus help me". Easy to type, hard to remember. I do remember a story I read about Noah Webster's mother. She had a lot of children (can't remember the exact number) and when she would get frazzled and had nowhere to run to, she would put her apron over her head and pray!

A friend sent me a quote which I think is appropriate for the post today, and one that I know I would do well to remember. As St. Dominic Savio said, "Here we make sanctity consist in being joyful all the time and in faithfully performing our duties." Do you think he REALLY meant all the time???

God Bless!