It started bad! Then the bad turned bad-der! Worse! And then, the worse became worse-er! There needs to be a stage beyond worse-er before you get to worst! I am sure that my day was far from the worst, but it seemed to try to get there by all the stages in between. I started by trying to find my clean pair of compression socks in the dim light of a nightlight—mostly dark. I should have done some better looking for them before I went to bed, not after my getting-up time — time to get dressed for the day. I finally gave up and put on the socks that I had been wearing and decided I was going to have to wash the used ones to get clean socks to wear. And note to self—order more! But where are the missing ones?
Then I got dressed only to find out later that I should have checked to make sure that every piece was right side out rather than inside out! The day was not going well! I was still hungry after eating some breakfast, so I decided to have some bread and peanut butter—my substitute for the cereal that I definitely don’t like. The jar was a new jar and the outside said—NO Stir! I unscrewed the lid confident in what I would find. Only to find out that it indeed needed to be stirred! I suddenly had spilled peanut oil on the table, oil was dripping all over the jar, oil on the floor and—-oil on my clean jeans!!!!! What an oily greasy mess to start my day with. I do not like to have oily spots on clothes that are put in the laundry! They are difficult. My day continued with turning from bad to getting worse!
Our lunch got delayed for several reasons but finally we were able to sit down together to eat. Occasionally, it seems like I have a bite of food that does not travel all the way into my stomach and feels stuck somewhere on the way. Sometimes stopping eating and waiting fixes the problem. I have learned that I should not try to wash the problem away with a drink of water. I was reminded of that when I tried that very thing this time when a bite of my rice refused to go all the way into my stomach. You don’t need the messy details, but I did not enjoy the results of my sip of water. I am so glad that I was home and could clean up a mess with my own paper towels and mop rags. I was able to clean…….., you can try to imagine what needed to be cleaned and might not be even close. Well, you can guess that my day was not getting any better! It was headed to the worst-er stage. And then……we were finally ready to try eating again. By now our food was Cold! It was time to use the microwave to reheat our rice and our vegetables to make them more enjoyable.
In our home, our toaster oven sits atop our microwave. I keep some of the containers that we often use in the toaster oven because they are the ones that fit it! This time we had neglected to put those items back into it. Rather, they were still sitting on the top. Using the microwave for our cold food must have made them start to slide and before they could be stopped, down to the floor they went! I heard a loud crash followed by the sound of breaking glass. The only thing that could have broken was a Pyrex baking dish. Have you ever broken a Pyrex dish? I don’t advise trying it. Because often, the Pyrex glass shatters into many small shards. And each one is very sharp. The dish broke—really broke! The toaster tray, a pan and broken Pyrex parts hit a can of seven-up, cut it and the liquid came spilling out all over the Pyrex shards making a 7-up shard puddle in a narrow doorway, so narrow and we could hardly figure out how to be able to clean up our new mess!
Now my day has gotten worse-er-er! And my good mood is not so good anymore! And our food is cold—again!! I had put on clean jeans after the oil, and now those no longer clean jeans must be cleaned up from the 7-up and they are wet. I decided to wear them wet! Not changing again while I still have to clean up glass and 7-up from the floor. About this time, I should have been asking, what’s next?!!!!
Later, I decided that I needed to attend to one of our rather large fall squash from our “squash for the winter” supply we like to have. If you have experience with large volleyball size squash, you will know that they are hard to open up. There are several ways to cook squash—I chose to cook this one in my instant pot. That was probably not the best choice for this particular squash. I thought I could easily peel the rind off the meat part of the squash if it was cooked and tender. It was easy, but not in a good way. The rind would not stay in a solid piece and kept leaving parts of the skin in the part I wanted to have ready to eat. More mess! It was very time-consuming, frustrating, and yes, messy! But I persevered and we had lots of squash ready to eat. Continuing with the messy day, I opened up a bulk package from the freezer that I had thawed with the idea that I could repackage the contents into smaller bags. Of course, the juices leaked and got on the dry leg of my jeans!!! So far, I have left off 2 other parts of this story. Early in the day, we received word that we should pray for one of our sons—he was having an emergency root canal! That is never fun and we were certainly glad to pray for him. And as my stressful day went on, my thumb and my back decided to be painful! It was hurting to move. Cleaning up the messes was made extra difficult!! Eventually, the pain caused me to seek out help from a doctor. It was one more addition to my messy day!
There is a phrase I have heard used fairly often. “No good, dirty, rotten, very bad day” refers to the famous children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, about a boy named Alexander who experiences a day where everything goes wrong, from gum in his hair to lima beans for dinner, leading him to wish he could move to Australia. In the book, Alexander had one of those days when nothing goes right. He ran smack up against one disappointment or tragedy after another. Like the old saying has it: “If it weren’t for bad luck, Alexander wouldn’t have any luck at all.” Here is the way the book begins: “I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, now there is gum in my hair, and when I got out of bed this morning, I tripped on the skateboard. By mistake, I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running, and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.” Then after a terrible day at school, a horrible visit to the dentist, and a no-good stop at the shoe store, Alexander, on the verge of total defeat, slumped in his chair at the dinner table. Nothing changed. His troubles just continued rolling over him wave after wave. “There were lima beans for dinner, and I hate limas. There was kissing on TV, and I hate kissing. My bath was too hot. I got soap in my eyes. My marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad-train pajamas. I hate my railroad-train pajamas. When I went to bed, Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep, the Mickey Mouse night light burned out, and I bit my tongue. The cat wants to sleep with Anthony and not me. It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
The phrase captures the feeling of being overwhelmed by a series of unfortunate events, a relatable experience of bad days in general. That phrase is what I was thinking about my own bad messy day. In the story, Alexander wakes up to a horrible day. It’s a classic story about recognizing that everyone has terrible days and that it’s okay to feel bad about them, with his mother ultimately reassuring him that “some days are like that, even in Australia”. Another quote, “Never regret a day in your life: good days give happiness, bad days give experience, worst days give lessons, and best days give memories.” I always tell myself, “Let the mistakes go and keep the lesson.” And the lesson for me is “Just remember, even your worst days only have twenty-four hours.” “Take a deep breath, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.” “When you have a bad day, a really bad day, try and treat the world better than it treated you.” “God’s plans for your life exceed the circumstances of your day.” What a wise little boy!
I like encouraging quotes that often focus on perseverance, inner strength, and hope. The themes include enduring through difficulty (“If you’re going through a really “bad moment”, keep going” by Churchill; Someone else wrote about finding meaning in a struggle, “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”, and also recognizing the power of inner strength—”The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”, a quote by Nelson Mandela. When I am having a “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day” I want to concentrate on shifting my attention from the bad feelings to God’s enduring love. I need to remember Jesus also faced hardship and then find strength in Him.
God’s love is Unchanging. Bad days make us feel isolated, but God’s love is constant, unlike our feelings. In the bad times, I can still focus on His faithfulness, not my emotions. Jesus understands; Jesus experienced the harshness of the world, so He understands our bad days and meets me even in the messy and bad days. Especially on bad days! At the same time, we can have hope in hardship and recognize that bad days are temporary (“it came to pass”). God uses these times to build my character, and His presence is my strength. Instead of dwelling inward, refocus and look outward to God and others. Find small ways to choose joy, even when I don’t feel it.
I found some Bible verses that are promises that I can count on to help with the bad messy days. Verses like Isaiah 41:10 (fear not, I am with you) to give me hope, knowing these messy days pass and I need to let God use them to build my character.
Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”.
Psalm 37:19: “They will not suffer when times are bad; they will have enough in time of famine”.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”.
On my worst days, remember God is present, He uses everything for good (Genesis 50:20), and I’m never alone. Call on Him, like David did (Psalm 61:2), and trust His unchanging love.
Sometimes I too, like Alexander, find myself stuck in the middle of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Or week. Or season. Whether I’m suffering the consequences of my own crabby disposition or reeling from situations out of my control, I understand Alexander’s ache when life unravels. I know what it’s like to stumble, sabotage my own joy or fret over my unexpected misfortune. And on the days I’m at my worst, I desperately need the One who knows me best. In 4-year-old words, that’s when I’m most lonely for my Heavenly Father. Our nearly 4-year-old grandson has a mommy who often must travel for her work. But this 4-year-old little boy gets lonely for his mamma and needs her cuddles when she is home. Daddy is loved in a different way, and they are best of pals, but when Mommy is home, he just needs his Mommy! Some days, I just need to know Jesus is there to give me a hug of love. Maybe you know that same feeling? King David certainly did. While this praised man of God enjoyed times of ease and celebration, he also came face to face with his fair share of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. However, when life unraveled for him, David acknowledged his longing for the One who holds all things together. (Colossians 1:17) King David’s worst days drove him to call upon His best hope: “You are the One I will call when pushed to the edge …” (Psalm 61:2). Perhaps that’s how we look for the unexpected gift tucked into the folds of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. If we pay attention to the crying out of our own hearts, our most frayed, frazzled moments can serve as a launching pad to send us toward our faithful and unfaltering Father God.
But before I picked up the shattered pieces of my unraveled messed up day, I wanted to scream in the middle of the mess that the day was giving me. And with some honest tears, I had to get up and deal with each mess as they happened. Because I tried to be mature about it, I didn’t want to yield to what I wanted to do. If I had, I would have missed the gift of my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I long for the day when there will be no more messes for me to clean up, no more messes in this world, no more messed up world! Dear God, thank You for being my best hope in good times and in bad. Give me a heart that always longs for You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” That is a lighter treatment of a much heavier subject. The fact is terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days can create a great deal of stress, tension, pain, and despair in my life, your lives. The reality is that sooner or later all of us are going to have to face those situations which create a real crisis for us: a death of a loved one, a divorce in the family, the loss of employment, the heartache brought on by a sick child, the news from a physician regarding an examination, and the list goes on, and on, and on. Yes, sooner or later in this life, all of us will have those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days when crises threaten to overwhelm us. And without any doubt, each previous week comes with the overwhelmingly tragic events, and people around the world experience a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. In this sin world, tragedy happens. Satan is guilty of the events and guilty of how we want to react when the messy bad events come to us personally.
At a time like this then, it is good to remember that Jesus himself knew all about terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. He was always having to deal with the hardness and the harshness of this world in His own life, and in the lives of the people around Him. And therefore, when Jesus speaks about how to deal with the crisis times in life, we would do well to listen. The parable from Matthew 13 is given for us to learn from. It is usually called the “parable of the weeds,” and it deals with the terribly complex issue of pain, suffering, and evil—a problem which has baffled theologians, philosophers, and preachers since the beginning of time. In response to that age old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Jesus told this story. And if we are smart, we will listen closely and hear what He has to say.
As with so many of His parables, this one obviously was based on an actual event—one with which His listeners were familiar. Jesus told of a farmer who carefully supervised his farm workers as they sowed high quality wheat seeds in the fields. However, at night when he and his helpers were asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds in the farmer’s fields. Why? I don’t know—maybe to exact revenge for some perceived wrong or maybe to gain a competitive advantage at harvest time. In any case, it was a naughty thing to do. What made it so troublesome was that apparently this particular weed—it has often been called darnel—in its early stages of growth, closely resembles the appearance of wheat. Now when the farmer and his workers realized what had been done, the workers wanted to know if they could pull up the weeds. The farmer seems to have cautioned them not to do so. He probably knew that because the weeds and the wheat looked so much alike, they would likely pull some wheat with the weeds. And he knew that, below the surface of the soil, the roots of both the wheat and the weeds had become entangled. Pulling up the weeds would damage the wheat crop. So, the farmer said, “Let the wheat and the weeds grow together. Then at the harvest when the wheat and the weeds can be easily distinguished, we will separate the two, keeping the wheat and discarding the weeds.” When Jesus explained the parable, it is quite clear that we are to deal with the painful crises of life exactly as that farmer dealt with the weeds. This parable offers valuable help for us in coping with the crisis times in our experiences— dealing with those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days that come our way. The parable reminds me that there will always be weeds among the wheat. There will always be bad days along with good days.
I choose to overcome the messy days!