It happened again. At 5:30 this morning the pee alarm went off. There’s something about waking up at the crack of early by warm pee. I jolted out bed like I did when I was in high school. What is it that makes a person jolt out of bed like the house is on fire because school is about to be in session? Anyway, Sophie clearly did not know that I changed my sheets just two day ago. But at least she still likes to snuggle her mama.

I’m trying to find the thankful in this situation. But don’t be fooled, I failed the test this morning. Realization hit me quickly, however. So I reassured Sophie that it was all okay, stripped my sheets and spread some blankets in hopes of snuggling a little while longer. Thank God for Sophie’s snuggles! Thank God for mattress covers!

Maybe I only half-passed the test because I ran around this mountain 40 years, I mean 40 times, today. I spent the better part of yesterday cleaning house only to face one spill or mess after the other. I knocked over a glass of tea that Courtney left on my bathroom counter. I wanted to be calm. I did. After all, Courtney assured me as she rushed out the door that she would pick up everything she left behind in my bathroom as soon as she got back home. Various hair products, her flat iron, brushes and combs spread across my vanity didn’t bother me. I’ll be honest—her Paul Mitchell flat iron is way better than my dilapidated Chi. But a glass of tea? If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a zillion times. PICK UP YOUR DISHES! With one brush of my robe, sticky tea spilled all over my freshly showered self, my clean floors and clean rug. I was NOT calm. I yelled, I griped, I sent her a text while cleaning up the sticky mess.

I finally got a clue to my test after my sister, Ginger, and brother-in-law, Jerry, arrived this evening with my brand new computer monitor. Ginger passed by the kitchen counter while carrying Gavin and bumped over the small catch-all bowl. Of course, I cleaned up the mess and broken glass with grace. HELLO! Relatives visiting. Seriously, there’s something about your visiting loved one accidentally breaking something that stirs up sympathy and understanding. And makes you feel awful for your completely different reaction earlier to a similar situation.

So by the time Cammie made it home from work and knocked a glass bowl of salsa out of the refrigerator spilling said salsa all over the refrigerator and clean floors and shattering glass across the kitchen once again, I totally questioned whether or not this was a test or a demonic attack for my sanity. Either way, I managed to maintain calm. Again, family visiting. Again, someone else made the mess.

The final straw. . . Sophie pulled one of her small chairs up to her armoire and helped herself to her jewelry on the top shelf above her clothing. If I’ve told her once, I’ve told her a zillion times. DO NOT CLIMB ON YOUR CHAIRS! A loud bang and a cry from Sophie indicated that she had fallen. Ginger and I rushed to Sophie’s room only to discover that she had not fallen and was in fact curled up in a corner crying. She tipped the top shelf over and knocked it behind her clothing rod. Jewelry, clothing and baskets were strewn across her room and in her armoire. Once again, I held it together. Not as much inside as outside. But again, family visiting. Although I will say in my defense that my family has seen the ugly that is within me.

But I was just too tired to rant and rave. And quite frankly, an oil spill of greater proportion helps to put things into perspective. I’m not quite sure I passed the test. And I don’t know if I can say I won’t have a melt-down next time. But I will remember what the Holy Spirit showed me tonight through the words of Lysa TerKeurst, once again, and I will pause, pause, pause before I speak or react.