The Israelites were losing their battles to the Philistines, so they had the bright idea to take the ark into battle with them (this was their idea…not God’s idea).  They lost the battle decisively, and the Philistines took the ark.

But then the Lord caused all sorts of afflictions to come on the Philistine people…sores, illness, etc.  So they sent the ark back to the Israelites, along with golden models of their sores and of the rats that were eating all their crops. (yuck!)

When it landed with the Israelites, those people celebrated and then did a bad thing: they opened the ark, killing several of them.  So they, too, sent the ark on its way.  It was being passed around like a hot potato.

My family got back late tonight from Italy.  It was pure bliss to hug my husband and to hold my big “little” girl in my lap!  She actually cried a few tears when she saw me. I am still mad at myself for not going…there were some things that happened on the trip that would not have had I been there…

But I have to let those things go, sort of like a hot potato.  If I keep thinking about them, I won’t sleep tonight.

Here’s the deal: my daughter has moderate eczema on her scalp.  It got out of hand during the week.  Due to lost luggage that did not arrive until their second day, my daughter’s hair went unbrushed and unwashed for two straight days.  Her older cousin helped her get the tangled mats out and apparently made a comment, “Whoever taught you to brush your hair didn’t do a good job!”

So of course I feel bad.  If I had been there, my daughter would have been spared the embarrassment.  I would have had the foresight to buy a brush — something my husband with very short hair probably didn’t even think of.

There.  The hot potato, out of the bag.  I can’t obsess over something so trivial.  They had a great time.  I will work on helping my daughter learn how to take better care of her hair…but you people don’t understand.  Her hair is beautiful — it is the thickest hair our hairdresser had ever seen.  It is no easy matter to apply soap; she probably needed to use the entire bottle of hotel shampoo on that hair, but didn’t…and getting all the soap out is another story in itself!  Any of you moms out there have any ideas on how to help your girls learn how to do that properly?  I was thinking about getting her a mirror for the shower.  But now she wants to chop it all off.  I think it was the exhaustion talking, though.

Okay, I’m letting this go……..

Thank you, Lord, for their safe return, and thank you for helping me make it through the week without them!