But you don't understand me...I am justified in my complaining!
A few months back, I was led to the passage I referred to the other day, and I felt the conviction laying thick. I set this challenge for myself, and I have to tell you that is was sooooo hard for me a few months back. I was very, very aware of my struggle within. For whatever reason, I had determined that because life was hard, I should complain about it every chance I got. All day long I would wait until my husband would get home so I could load off onto him....counting down the minutes until I could finally blow out all of the frustration I had built up throughout the day. He would come home to me saying to him, "You won't believe what happened this morning!...And then, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse...OH! and like I wasn't already mad enough..." Poor guy. If he had a bad day there wasn't any time to talk about it, because by the time I was done venting, we were both exhausted.
Life was hard. It is still hard most days. We're in a challenging phase of our lives with all of our kids being infants or toddlers: a 4 year old, 2 year old, and a 7 month old. I had no idea how demanding kids were until we had them. :) (Anybody out there relate?) So many things happen everyday that I never would have bargained for. I definitely still have my turn of struggles, and internal anguish, but I can honestly say this time of committing to a full day of no complaining was so much easier than the last time.

Here's my encouraging word
If you are someone who is always pulling out the "woah is me" card, make choices to stop, and look around you. Don't complain, even though you feel like it. See what happens. The more you consciously make the effort, the easier it will become. Seriously. Try it out for yourself. You will still need your one or two awesome friends that you can sort out life's wild mysteries with (like why my son still continues to insist on not flushing the toilet even though we have been telling him for months) but you won't feel like you have to unload your baggage at every chance you get. And when you do it will be brief, and it will be a relief when you are done.
The wrap up
When you feel like complaining ask yourself this question:
"Do I want to talk about this to find an answer, or do I just want everyone else to feel bad for me?" If it's the second one, pray instead, take a few deep breaths, and try to change your focus. Smile and give your kids a kiss instead. In some instances, you may need to ensure that the kids are safe, and then dart to another room for a moment until you collect yourself. Do it for them and for you.

LOVE YOU MOMMA FRIENDS!!! We'll get through this wild journey together. Okay, now go rock on with your bad self! :0)

***This post was part of a 3 post series on how to do everything without complaining. If you are interested in the 1st and 2nd posts that led up to this one click on one of the links below:
Do everything without complaining: Part One
Do everything without complaining: Part Two