What Makes My Kids Cry Today

There I was, flipping pancakes like the domestic goddess I pretend to be before 9 a.m., when I heard it:

“Mommy! I need to pee!”

Now listen — my 3-year-old is not so good at potty training, and every time he “remembers” to tell me he has to go, it feels like we’re winning a prize. So I smile. I beam. I’m about to drop the spatula and give this kid a standing ovation.

Until I round the corner.

That’s when I see it:

A glistening, shimmering puddle on the bathroom floor.

He already went.

And by “went,” I mean Niagara Falls.

I didn’t even have time to process before I nearly slipped and fell in it, barefoot, holding a plate of half-cooked pancakes like some kind of frazzled breakfast ninja.

And just like that, my morning turned into a soggy object lesson in sanctification.

💧 Sanctification in the Splash Zone

Let’s talk honestly: potty training is not for the faint of heart.

It’s repetitive, messy, and full of false hope.

So is sanctification.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…”

— Galatians 5:22

Parenting toddlers is basically God’s favorite way to grow that fruit.

Not by handing you a peaceful morning with dry floors and cooperative children, but by letting you nearly face-plant in pee while trying to make breakfast.

In that moment, I didn’t feel holy. I felt sticky. And very aware of how much work God still has to do in me.

🧽 Grace, Even on Bathroom Floors

I cleaned it up. Again. I hugged him. Again. I told him, “Next time, let’s try to tell Mommy before we go,” which, of course, he nodded to with full toddler confidence.

But as I stood there with a wet towel and a cold pancake, I was reminded:

God’s grace meets me right in the mess.

In the half-cleaned kitchen.

In the bathroom splash zone.

In the sigh I let out because I’m exhausted and out of syrup and patience.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

— 2 Corinthians 12:9

🙌 Final Thought:

Friend, if you’re potty training while flipping pancakes — or just trying to survive another day of motherhood with your socks and sanity intact — know this:

You are not alone in the mess.

God sees you. He’s growing you.

Not despite the puddles, but right in the middle of them.

Let the fruit of patience, love, and gentleness keep ripening in your home, even when it feels like nothing is going as planned.

You’re not behind. You’re being sanctified — one soggy step at a time.

🙏 A Short Prayer:

Lord, thank You for meeting me in sticky kitchens, tired mornings, and toddler chaos. Grow patience in me where I have none, and remind me that You’re not waiting for me to clean it all up — You’re already here. Amen.