I lost my umbrella when we moved. It was cute and girly and a little bit whimsical. Just what I needed on rainy days when the wind whipped up and fat raindrops dive bombed the earth, my windshield, and my brightly painted toenails. Without that umbrella, I’d hop over puddles and skip across the parking lot to make it to the office door before my hair went poof. Before the thunderclouds beat me down.
Sometimes my life is like that. Storm clouds form and burst wide open before I can make my way from one place to another. The rain beats me down and sends me running for cover before the entire day ahead of me unravels and goes poof. Sometimes what a girl needs is a little bit of covering. Sometimes it helps to look up and know He rejoices over us with singing, even when the weather takes a turn and sends us hopping across the parking lot in search of a safe place for our feet to land.
The image of God rejoicing when He looks at me is more than enough to make me smile. I mean, I know me and I know that sometimes rejoicing is the last thing I deserve. I know I can be the source of the thunderclouds in my home, and that my harsh words sometimes can strike like lightning in my family’s life. I know sometimes I’m the reason for the storm. I also know sometimes life gets so heavy I can barely see my way through the dark and the fog of laundry and teens out past curfew and things that go bump in the night. But none of that matters to God. Whether I’m shining light, or just muddling my way through the darkness, God looks at me and He starts humming. Girlfriend, just knowing that is enough to keep my day from going poof (even though my hair may still have a mind of its own).
Last week, I replaced my lost umbrella with this cute and girly and whimsical umbrella from DaySpring’s Good Things collection. I love it even more than the one I lost. If you’re reviewing an item from this month’s selection, link up your post below!
ABOUT
DEIDRA
Deidra is an East Coast girl living in an empty nest under a great expanse of sky in the American Midwest. She will forever be stunned and amazed by grace. Deidra and her husband have been married...
It’s been twenty-three years since I sat in that hospital room, waiting for someone with just a little bit of common sense to walk in and speak some truth into the situation. I mean, seriously? They were going to let me take this baby home? What were they thinking? What was I thinking?
Ten little fingers and ten sweet toes and raspberry lips in a bow. Long eyelashes resting like silk on creamy, toffee skin. And a sweet, baby smell that completely undid me. Didn’t these people know that if I took this baby home I would break him? Where was the instruction booklet? Where was the test to see if I knew what I was doing? Seriously. What were we thinking?
Who among us really knows what she’s doing when we make a baby and bring him home? When we put him on the bus for kindergarten, or give her the keys to the car, or drop him off at college, or move her into her very first apartment with the door that sticks and the bottom step that squeaks?
Back in that hospital, no one ever came running down the corridor, waving their arms in the air and shouting, “Wait! Stop! This woman cannot take this baby home! She has no idea how to be a mother!” Nope. They just calmly brought me the papers to sign, made me sit down in the wheelchair, and put that baby in my arms. Then, we rode down the elevator and through the door of the hospital without even one glimmer of hesitation from any of those hospital people. The security guard didn’t even glance in my direction.
So, we did the only thing we could do. We grew up together. Along the way we broke each other. And we healed each other. And we kept growing up together. There’s no way around the mistakes. There is no getting through this motherhood thing without a heartbreak or two. There is no escaping sleepless nights and tough decisions.
So here it is: your permission to be the imperfect mother that you are. Because perfect is just too much pressure. We’ll never get there. Not this side of heaven. But we’ve got two things that make it all work. We’ve got love and we’ve got grace. The thing we’re really good at? We are good at loving those ten fingers and toes and the way that baby smells and the way they grow and make us grow right along with them. And God has grace enough to fill in all the places we fall short. So go ahead. Be your imperfect self – head over heels in love with that baby or that toddler or that teenager or that college graduate. And hang on tight to God, letting Him fill all the empty spaces with grace.
By: Deidra, Jumping Tandem
{Did you see that lovely picture of DaySpring’s Bless this Home Wall Art up above? It’s on sale this month for only $24.99– that’s $20 off! If you are looking for a perfect Mother’s Day Gift, or need to give the husband a couple hints, jump on over and take a look at DaySpring’s Mother’s Day Selection!}
ABOUT
DEIDRA
Deidra is an East Coast girl living in an empty nest under a great expanse of sky in the American Midwest. She will forever be stunned and amazed by grace. Deidra and her husband have been married...
