I took this picture last week and I think it’s one of my all-time favorites. It was a busy weekday morning and we were all rushing around to get ready. Micah and I were heading to MOPS, and Adam was taking Sky to preschool where he’d be staying for “Donuts with Dad” before going to work as usual. Just before they left I grabbed the camera.
I’m not sure I have anything too important to say about this particular picture; I just love it and had to share it. Maybe because it shows two of my favorite people (who also happen to look a lot alike, don’t you think?) with big happy grins on their faces. Or maybe because this is the kind of moment I used to imagine back before we had kids. All I know is that when I look at it, I can’t help but think, wow, I’m blessed. I get to hang out with these people (and our little Micah) every day. I love them so much.
Is this why my mom obsessively took pictures of us when we were kids? Because a good photo can make some of the mess, noise, snotty noses, and temper tantrums fade into the background?
The truth is most of the day is not brushed hair and clean, smiling faces. It’s work and it’s draining. I make mistakes and tend to dwell on them, then feel guilty because I’m not enjoying every minute of motherhood the way strangers in the grocery store say I should (because “they grow up so fast!”).
Earlier I was reading Ann Voskamp’s blog, which today is about becoming a “Velveteen Mother” and allowing all the things that wear you down to make you beautiful. She says that motherhood has the power to both hurt and heal, and that God can make “something big of all this dust” once we allow Him to wear “everything down to pure, holy love.”
We all appreciate genuine, smiley pictures. But Voskamp’s right; God’s ability to turn ashes to beauty is a theme that runs throughout the Bible. I don’t grow a whole lot spiritually when life is smooth and easy. So maybe I shouldn’t fight so hard against the difficulty. The “dusty” every day moments are important too, even if they don’t make the prettiest pictures.
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