Determination

She sat in the recliner, leaned back and comfy looking.
"You know, somedays I determine that I will smile all day.  Others, I determine that I will not say no.  Sometimes I determine that I will not yell.  But it never works out that way."
I felt a great tenderness towards her, as I determine these things, and others, for myself, too.  And no matter how hard I try, I often fail.
"Why do you think it never works out?"   I confess, I was sure a teachable moment had landed in my lap.
Her reply?  "Boys.  If there were no boys, I could do all of those things."
Hmmm.  Not quite the answer I expected but, I get it.  It is easy to blame our mood or our behavior on someone or something else.  I can't think how many times I have thought "if ____ were different, then I could ___."  Fill in the blanks with whatever you want.  Excuses are a dime a dozen but they quickly fall flat.
What comes out of my mouth is what is in my heart.
"...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."  Luke 6:45
But what good news for my little girl and her mama that we have One who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and offers us great mercy in our time of need.  (Hebrews 4: 15-16)