Refuge of Grace

I scrub dishes over the sink, just like I do every morning. The rushing water drowns out the voices of my son and daughter, creating throughout the stage and art studio of our home. This morning, unbeknownst to me, my daughter decided to outline her newly penned drawing with milky white Elmer’s glue and sprinkle, okay more like dump, glitter on the expanse of the picture. The result—a perfectly magical masterpiece covered in glitter and also, a complete and utter disaster to clean up for this perfectionist mama—all before 8:30 AM.

“Mom, I need help cleaning up some glitter,” her voice interrupts the monotony of rinsing yet another dish, watching the bubbles spin down the drain. “Just a minute, I’m finishing up some dishes and I’ll be right there,” I respond without even thinking. I dry my hands on the towel and come around the corner into our carpet-covered dining room (yes, we still have carpet in our dining room and are living to tell the tale). This is where she decided to create this morning—the dining room, not the kitchen table that sits atop tile-covered floor, but the carpet-stretched dining room. I look down and take in the sight. My first response is complete overwhelm. I want to huff, puff, and yell at her all in the same moment. But because I want her to keep creating, I hold that back, and take a deep breath. And then I see it. One of the pieces of glitter, catches the light and sparkles, creating mesmerizing beauty. To me, an immense spill of glitter does not evoke beauty; however focusing on one speck of glitter, there is wonder dancing in that tiny, yet captivating dot. A dance brimming with God’s provision and grace. Even in the overwhelm, His grace and provision is found.

Maybe this is how motherhood glitters. As a whole, the glitter spill of motherhood is take-your-breath-away, anxiety-inducing, tears-streaming-down-your-face engulfing. However, motherhood is made up of shimmering God moments—the hug that you don’t expect, the kiss on the cheek, the snuggle that you maybe needed more than they did, the squeals of delight that erupt from their mouths while you play together, the joy of sharing a story, or the big brown eyes looking up at you like you are their whole whole world. God’s provision and grace sparkle in the spill and the speck, the hard and the beautiful.

When the glitter spills again (because let’s face it, it will), let’s admire the iridescent glitter speck and let the light from His provision and grace sparkle in our eyes.