Ugly-Beautiful

Some days I wish could wrap myself in a chrysalis. One that smells of cinnamon  or wildflowers preferably, where I could go about my day in desultory fashion...meandering. Where everything was the embodiment of ideal. The Epitome of dulcet, enchanting, halcyon. BEAUTY.

However some of my days are often filled with cacophony. 7 lively boys and a tomboy daughter explode on the scene no later than 6.30 every morning. Some days are maladroit and mediocre. Others are down right repugnant.

Shrill shrieks of siblings bickering. Missing school books and pencils that need sharpening with that elusive sharpener. Wet washing and not the slightest hint of sunshine on the horizon. Phone calls from well meaning people who KNOW we homeschool in the mornings  so are not available to chat. It all grates on my insides, twists my stomach into knots. 

And then there is this:

The messy corner cupboard that needs clearing out. re-organising

And this:

Untidy pile of recipe books

And this:

Piles of laundry that get no further than here

However when I stop. JUST STOP. All suffuse and chafed. And I seek a vestige of tranquillity...I seek the God who made all...I hear His whispering....

'look here':

Preserves already accomplished

'And here':

Food inspiration

'And here':

Clean washing and the facilities to make it happen

And I can again see the beauty of the gifts #604 ~#613:

Buying paint for bedroom walls with friends

Coffeehouse coffee (while we waited for our paint orders!)

Killing time at the park before youth group drop off

Riding the swings and flying fox with my teens

Church home group

A homeschooling trip to the museum with the middle-ies

Serving travellers

Littlest boy asking me turn toward him in my bed so he can seek my face

He and I waving goodbye to Lifestyler Husband and Our girl out a rain-stained window at 4am

My teens scratching out John 3:16 of their own accord, in the sand on the shoreline

And everything becomes incandescent again despite the mountains of laundry, the carnage of unwashed dishes and the never ending pick up.

And I make the choice to be thankful, to be enthusiastic, enraptured and grace-filled  for my children and husband. And for my God.