I got a FaceTime call from my grand kids yesterday. This is nothing unusual. If one of them grabs a phone, they know exactly how to accomplish a call to Papa. This particular call came from inside a shopping cart. The plastic cells walls of their mobile prison were immediately identifiable.

I came to learn that my daughter had packed them up in the car to get out of the house for a bit. Daddy was on a “Bro-Weekend” trip with friends from school so she had been home by herself with three kids under the age of five for three days at that point. While driving they saw reindeer in an outdoor pen at the hardware store. The first desire produced a second, greater desire. Sure, we can stop. The next thing you know, the kids see the l-o-n-g line for Santa and of course they need a picture with Santa!

In life we often chase one desire with blinders on. One thing leads to another, and the next thing you know, you’ve got yourself an addiction or habit that you never started out to attain! As my daughter tried to deal with three “wildlings” in the house, all she knew was that she needed something to change. Each decision seemed reasonable, but it all lead to a situation where she stood in line for over an hour, trying to maintain the behavior of a 2 and 4 year old while also monitoring the 6 month old. Not easy. Not what she set out to do. Reality.

Like most things, the end result didn’t even pan out to be outstanding. Santa had the belly and white beard, but someone really should have procured a better outfit, since he looked more like a chubby elf than Santa! Oh well, it is what it is. When she found herself in a bad situation, my daughter did the right thing: she reached out for help. I was able to entertain the two older kids for 30 minutes while she took care of the baby. Ho Ho Ho! Sometimes you have to reach out to…

–Rise Up!!