troubles to grace

It's always surprising to me how fluid my life is. I mean, how up and down. When I'm up, I feel like I'll never be down again - I'm on top of the world, I'm close to God and trusting Him is easy. But then, when I'm down, I can't imagine being anything else, and I feel like there's a stone where my soul should be. One thing that I appreciate about experience, is that I'm learning (slowly) that when my life starts to fall into that downward spiral, the best and only "fix" is to seek after God - even though that's the last thing I feel like doing. Seeking Him can take many forms, but reading His Word is usually the quickest remedy. I love how He can so quickly bring things to the point I have been missing. And how does he do it?? I honestly can't explain how He used Isaiah 66 to show me I have been ungrateful and full of complaining, lately. But He speaks through His word - It is living and organic. And He can show me my faults in such a gracious way...oh, make me like You, LORD, as I raise these soon-to-be teenage daughters. I already feel that I need buckets of grace and mountains of patience. I guess that's the point of these difficulties...to make me more like Him! And so, I'll take this experience, and these troubles and just be thankful!