Packing for a Road Trip...

Today’s Scripture: 

Worry weighs us down; a cheerful word picks us up. Proverbs 12:25

(simple, yet powerful, and maybe should be on our list of memorization)

Am I the only one who has a stress attack from the packing of a road trip or vacation?  My tiny little mind goes in a hundred different directions all at once, and I feel if I forget a single item we might possibly need once we get there I have failed as a SuperMom! It really makes me crazy…so why do we feel that pressure as Mom’s?  And if the pressure isn’t enough, we exhaustedly climb into the car with our husband who complains about how many bags we have; and looks at us with eyes that say, “What has taken you sooooo long?” I want to unload on him and scream, “you only packed your things; and I have packed up the children and myself, as well as those things I knew you would forget of yours and ask me for when we get there!!!”  Sound familiar to anyone out there?  At this point, I really have no desire to be the submissive wife that scripture calls me to be.  You know the one from Ephesians 5:24, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Wow, and I surely am not into that last word of the scripture, everything.  It is just hard to swallow, EH? I not only don’t want to submit, but…well…don’t at this point want to go anywhere either.  This is where the tongue biting starts on my part.  I can be quick to smart off, and have learned this only compiles the tenseness that has overcome the car.  So, I am trying to figure out what is the root to my being so upset?  Is it the fact that I feel I get little to no credit for the hard work/miracle of packing up everything for everyone without forgetting anything?  Is it the look that I’ve packed too much, or that I took too long?  Or is it something I anticipate now based on previous experience, and am looking for that familiar now disagreement as we all load up and move out?  And best of all, what could I choose to do differently to avoid this situation?  As I contemplated the last question raised, I realized maybe I bring it onto myself.  I put too much pressure on ME, not everyone else.  Then, when it seems like no one else acknowledges my stress, I’m mad about it.  Are you laughing yet because you can relate? Today’s scripture speaks to this matter and all others that cause us to worry and stress.  Worry weighs us down, brings us down, keeps us down, and is useless!  But cheerfulness is a pick-me-up.  So maybe next time I pack up for a trip; I will work harder on less worry and stress over my obsession of packing perfection.  Have a great weekend; and I will write again Monday.