When all of my kids and great-grandpa have the stomach flu, there’s a lot of cleaning and laundry to do. And not much time for sleep. I feel like I’m giving more than I have, and often the cost does not seem worth the reward. But many good things we do have little to no reward. I recently read this scripture in John 14: “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Sometimes good things are only rewarded in eternity.

I keep trying. In a yoga video, there was a version of this quote by Mark Manson:

The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience.

I’m striving to accept my crazy life, which is never quite as successful or easy as I would like, but still has enough joy and wonder to keep me going. Naps and flowers, and time to be creative help me be okay.