What's your Excuse?

On Monday I got my wisdom teeth removed and it has been a painful week trying to recover. It hurt especially to eat, which had me always torn between dealing with my empty stomach or keeping my mouth from hurting even more. So I have spent a lot of time frustrated and hurting, and it has made me a very unpleasant person to live with.

This morning Kurt left to go hiking, and while I am totally able to care for the kids at this point, I just didn't want to. I wanted to be alone, definitely not be responsible for two lives. I was cranky and I think William was way more naughty than usual...I have the torn book and scribbled-on coffee table as evidence. I was about at my wit's end when God brought a picture to my mind. I saw Christ carrying his cross up to Calvary. He was beaten and bleeding, and along the way, even to his last breath, he was speaking to encourage others or ask for them to be forgiven. He didn't take even excruciating pain to be an excuse to focus on himself, but even at the end his life was in the Father's hands, loving people. He poured out himself.

So what was my excuse?