Dropping my keys on the kitchen counter, I paused to soak in the gift of silence. My morning carpool duty was complete, and now I could think clearly for the first time in two days.
I glanced at what Monday morning had in store for me. The dishes piled high in the sink. Evidence of the weekend carved a trail from the garage door, through the kitchen, all the way to the stairs. A cereal spill from breakfast remained. The chores undone laughed in my face.
I welcomed the blanket of silence and let it quiet the laughing chores. The chime of a text interrupted the stillness and I reached for the phone. A picture my husband captured over the weekend greeted me. Those smiles, those eyes. They made me want to linger longer in that silent, messy kitchen. I began scrolling. Picture after picture of the weekend.
Because of the quiet, I was able see the beauty of the moments captured in time. I was in a place that offered space to see what I was unable to see while living in real time. In all honesty, I was not remembering that weekend to be as sweet as the pictures showed. In reality the weekend hadn’t lived up to my expectations – far from it. Sibling bickering seemed to find fresh grounds to explore. Our schedule created tension and exhaustion for each of us. We had little grace to offer each other.
The pictures told a different story. There were no pictures of the fights we fought, the hurtful words we shared, or the tears we shed. If I were to write a story of our weekend from the pictures, it would read different from the one written from the actual lived-out experiences. Like two separate narratives.
Yet my life does not consist of separate narratives. They overlap, weave in and out, and tell stories between the lines. My life tells stories in the stories. And so does yours.
Sometimes it’s hard to clear the ugly to see the sacred. So I prayed, ‘Lord, I want to see the treasure in the moment – not only when it has passed. Let me see the sacred right in the middle of the chaotic messes we create.’
I left my messy kitchen and strolled to the rose bushes that taunt me with their black spotted leaves. With a newfound resolve, I began cutting bright pink roses in full bloom. So what if the leaves have black spots? So what if the bush has a fungus?
No longer will I let you, fungus, keep me from fully enjoying these blooms. I won’t wait until the fungus is gone. I will fill my vases with the beauty of the blooms right now. Black spots and all. I will fill that mason jar so full of pink blooms, you will hardly notice the black spotted leaves. In time, with love and attention, we will work on that fungus. The black spots will disappear and only the beauty and fragrance of the rose will be remembered.
Our lives are a beautiful work in progress. Sometimes the black spots are more prominent than at other times, but the blooms still bloom. When our lives bear black spots, we still radiate beauty and fragrance when we are positioned in Him.
Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Psalm 85:15
Leave a Comment
heather m says
Beautiful imagery and words together are woven together in what you wrote. Thanks Renee! I’m so very guilty of missing the meaning behind what I think might have been a mess of the weekend. Enjoy your roses!! And I didn’t notice one black spot in that picture– it’s all in what you focus on right? Have a wonderful Thursday!
Renee Robinson says
Thank you, Heather! Yes, it does matter what we focus on for sure!
heather m says
*whoops* too many “together”s in that first sentence… pay no mind to the first one…!
Marina says
Yes. So important to capture the beauty in spite of the blight… Perfect imagery!
There is God’s goodness in everything… EVERYTHING! We just need to look for it (instead of focusing on the bad).
Thanks for sharing!
Karen says
GREAT illustration! Such a true post and a wonderful reminder!!!!!
Marty says
Such a great reminder on this busy first week of school. Thank you for sharing!
karyn says
Thank you for your teaching. Sharing.
🙂
Sharon O says
As always your words are beautiful. So encouraging. Thank you for giving new thoughts for the day.
Liz says
“Sometimes it’s hard to clear the ugly to see the sacred. ” Words fail to express how beautifully this thought struck me.
Gaylynn Blancett says
Thank you Renee for this beautiful visual of your weekend pictures. I too have a diificult time what is right now. I wonder if I can “get to the future if the past is present?” The past just one second ago is the mess I’m in. I am focusing on the future and a second ago I missed the present. I just want to be where God “is”. “Now” I am in a mess and God is always with me. I am thankful for the mess I’m in, its the one place I see where God “is”. God Bless all
Kate Carman says
Beautiful, peaceful, true. Chaos, at some level seems to reign in my family time. I love your honesty to admit when expectations are not met, but your end resolve to see the beauty and gratitude of the moments anyway. Cheers to the Holy Spirit and hubby who knew you needed those pics!
shelli littleton says
So true. Thank you, Renee.
angela says
I SOOOO needed this today…thank you!!
Beth Williams says
You hit the nail on the head with the phrase: “Our lives are a beautiful work in progress. Sometimes the black spots are more prominent than at other times, but the blooms still bloom. When our lives bear black spots, we still radiate beauty and fragrance when we are positioned in Him”
I feel the exact way a lot. It seems hubby and I can have some time together, yet all I see is the ugly thorny pieces–not the beautiful moments woven in between.
Your writing is super poetic and beautiful!