Daily Devotional for October 2, 2021
Bad Day Blues
Sam was grumpy when he got off the school bus. His mom smiled, but he didn’t smile back. He’d had a bad day.
First, his friend Aiden didn’t play with him on the playground. At lunch, Sam spilled his milk on his favorite shirt. Then he got a bad grade on a homework assignment. The bad feelings grew inside him until they were all he could think about.
“What’s wrong, Sam?” Mom asked.
Sam trudged up to the front porch. “Bad day.”
Mom blocked the door before he could walk inside. “Wait! I have a surprise in there for you.”
“A surprise?” Sam tried to move around Mom, but she wouldn’t budge. “What is it?”
“I can’t tell you. Not until we get rid of your bad-day blues.” Mom grabbed Sam’s hand and took him back to the garden. “So, what happened?”
Sam didn’t want to share about his day—but he wanted the surprise. After a slight groan, he told Mom everything.
“That does sound bad.” Mom pulled a weed. “Did anything good happen?”
“Well, I did make a new friend at recess. His name’s Tristan.”
“Wonderful! Anything else?”
Bit by bit, good moments appeared from Sam’s bad day as he plucked weeds with Mom. The cool T-shirt his teacher gave him, finger painting, getting a window seat on the bus. Sam didn’t want to admit it, but maybe this wasn’t the worst day.
“It’s okay to have bad days,” Mom said. “But God tells us to rejoice, no matter what.”
“Rejoice?”
“It’s like finding joy in God’s world and thanking Him for it. Even on bad days, Jesus loves us and won’t ever leave us, and we can find joy in that. No matter what bad things happen, we can rejoice because He’s saved us and given us eternal life.” Mom pulled a ripe strawberry from the vine.
Sam gasped. He hadn’t noticed the strawberry plants behind the weeds. But with the weeds gone, the fruit shimmered red in the sunlight.
Mom was right. God planted joy in every moment…even if the weeds hid it sometimes.
“Ready for your surprise?” Mom asked.
“Yes!”
Even before Sam walked inside and smelled the fresh strawberry pie, joy stirred in his heart.
-Becca Wierwille
How about you?
Have you ever had a terrible day? Sometimes one upsetting moment can ruin your whole day if you let it. But no matter what, Jesus is with you. He loves you. He saved you from sin and offers you joy, hope, and peace. And that is something you can always be thankful for, even on the worst days.
Thank you for reading this Keys for Kids devotional! Did you enjoy the story? Has Keys for Kids been an encouragement to you and your family? If so, would you please consider supporting Keys For Kids Ministries in our effort to continue to provide these daily devotionals to children around the world?