A Sacrifice of Praise

Rachel Watkins recaps her own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day — and shares what she learned from it. 

Today was a day which was, in a word, awful. Not in an earth-shattering way, but still awful: a series of small struggles and seemingly never-ending bad news. Our day began with heavy traffic on the way to a doctor’s appointment that had taken 4 months to get, when the realization during the standstill that we had forgotten to get gas and we were on empty added to my panic.

This first hiccup however was handled with prayers and praise to God, knowing He was with us and it would work out. And it did. We arrived on time and there was a gas station right next to the offices and the appointment went well. Praise you, Jesus!  

But, as the phrase goes, it went downhill from there. I don't to give you a blow-by-blow of the day, but it included and was not limited to a lousy piece of mail and a frustrating visit to the visit to the Motor Vehicle office. There was a series of telephone calls from one daughter asking for advice about the condition of the new apartment we are supposed to be moving both her and another daughter into this weekend. And these telephone calls were taking place in the Walmart parking lot while waiting for our pickup order, which was taking an inordinately long time — and I was hungry. Then my husband mentioned he might have left his phone at one of our several stops!  

A Spiritual Tantrum 

With each small pinprick of frustration throughout the day, my ability to pray and see God kept decreasing. So, there in the Walmart parking lot after a full day of bad news and with a tired soul, I had a spiritual tantrum.   

I said nothing out loud, but in my heart I let Him have it! With my arms firmly crossed and my mouth tightly closed I looked away from my husband, stared out the window and let God know exactly how I felt. Couldn’t He have done something about all of this? Where was He?  

Then within my mental meltdown, I felt my anger melt away and my frustration dissipate. By letting God know exactly how I felt, I was able to feel God. Of course, He was there, He saw all of it. I loosened my arms and my mouth and was able to get back to my simple go-to prayer of surrender: “Jesus. I trust You. Take care of everything.” There were no solutions to any of the day’s problems, but I got to a point where I could wait on Him.   

I apologized to my husband for all the things he didn’t hear. We were able to pray for our concerns and found something to laugh about as our order finally arrived. He even remembered he'd left his phone at home where we then went, finally done for the day in every regard. 

Let Him Have It 

We all know there are lousy days, days when nothing will go right. We will feel our desire and ability to pray fade away with each disappointment. On those days when we can do nothing but shout at our Father and let Him know just how angry, sad, scared, and yucky we feel, that’s exactly what we need to do. Let Him have it. All of it.  

Is Hebrews 13:15 familiar to you? It tells us about the “sacrifice of praise” we are asked to give. In one of those good homilies I heard, the priest said those are the prayers we say when nothing is going right but we talk to God anyway. Like today for me — and perhaps tomorrow for you.  

Our days will never be perfect. But can we remember to lean on God throughout the hard times with even the smallest of prayers to remind ourselves that He sees everything and is with us throughout it all?

May the God of peace … furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever [and ever]. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20a, 21)  

Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Rachel Watkins
Images: Canva