Beauty In The Mundane

There are some days that try your patience. Days when the toilet is leaking, laundry must be washed and folded, and the floor must be swept since it looks like it hasn't seen the broom in a week. Oh, and then there's those two papers that have to be written while entertaining two boys. Two boys that very much dislike sharing their mama with a computer screen.

I'm a gray weather person. I love the wind and clouds that tell of an approaching thunderstorm. The wind is cool, the grass is green, and I wish it could stay like this forever. We all went out and enjoyed it today. We got out of this house with the toys and the laundry and the dirty floor. We enjoyed the wind and the sprinkles of rain.

Eventually we had to come back inside. Snacks must be eaten and work must be done, after all. As I made sure the kids were settled in with their snacks to watch Reading Rainbow, I happened to notice the couch. Nothing big, just the way the light filtered through the overcast sky and settled on the pillows. It was a quiet moment in the chaos and busyness.

If you could look around me, the TV is on, there are toys on the floor, and there's a couple loads of laundry waiting on a chair. There's a kid to my left and a kid to my right. There's school books and papers stacked on the side table and my coffee table has crayon marks on it.

I didn't even get to sit down and enjoy this oasis of peace. Somebody would have asked for something and I'd have had to get up again anyway. All I took was a moment. A moment to soak it all in. A moment to grab the camera.

Sometimes those moments are all you have. 

Savor them. Let the One that is peace use those moments to speak peace to your heart. See it for what it is and accept it. A little gift of beauty in the midst of the chaos. A measure of grace poured out into a thirsty soul.

The house can be a mess but there are still little spots of beauty to be found. Sometimes they stand out and sometimes you have to look, but they are there. Take a minute to look around and see if you can find them. A little bit of beauty and peace among the raw realness of the mundane.