Silly Me!
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 NLT
Sometimes I sit down and I don’t know what to write. This was one of those times. And that’s usually when I find that God steps in. Today that looked like little Sylvia tip-toeing her way down the stairs, after Stephen had already read a book, the prayer had been said, she’d been tucked in and given some rubs.
She gave me a hug and we talked for a minute about how she used to think all the animals were kitties. Then she asked if she could lay in my bed for a few minutes. I said “yes, but go ask daddy, too. I’m down here working and he’s still up with you girls. He’ll say yes.” She wouldn’t ask, so I did. And he said yes.
Her toes hit the 3rd step as I heard myself say, “See silly! You just had to be brave enough to ask!” Wow! Why in the world wasn't I giving myself that same advice?
You see, my comment to Sylvia hit especially hard because I’ve recently hit my start of summer breaking point. During the school year, I at least pretend that I’ve found some sort of rhythm. When the kids are out of school, we live a full life, with an ever changing schedule. There is no keeping up in the beautiful, tired mess of summer.
I love it. The problem is, I usually don’t notice my own emotional cracks under the weight of it all. Not until the whole thing is already in a pile of tears, anger, overwhelm and anxiousness on the floor. Which brings me to today's art-
I'm going to start imagining myself as this lovely little piece of broken pottery I found buried out in the dirt and weeds at the barn. When I've landed myself in a big broken pile, again, I can envision God out in the weeds picking up all of my broken and trampled on pieces. I can see him in my mind as He kneels down to sift through the dirt, until he finds every last piece. I imagine he checks the cracks in the glaze, where he glued me all back together the last time.
When I found this piece of pottery, I thought it was so beautiful, despite being broken and cracked. I don’t remember to see myself that way, but I know God does. I guess it’s a good thing Sylvia didn’t stay tucked in. I’ve been looking at this little piece of pottery for a month, and I still wasn’t putting it all together. If I had recognized my own cracks a month ago, I wouldn’t have needed another picking up now.
But God will always pick up our pieces. And God will always glue us back together.
And silly me, I just had to be brave enough to ask! Are you feeling brave enough to ask?
Broken Pottery at the barn, May 2023.
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