Memory Work and Accepting the Broken

Here it is the end of November and I have just now reached the middle of my little MoleSkin, as noted by the cute stitching down the page.  As you can tell, I should have been memorizing this section back in July.  

I got a little off track and decided to slow down.  It was hard to stay on task each week when I knew I was already behind.  But here I am about half way through Romans 8.  Trying to believe that the words I need at just the right time might be perfectly timed because I am four months behind.

It makes me think of our recent craft project that was really just a salvage from the trash.  And a personal salvaging of a big, ugly reaction to something that shouldn't have been such a big deal.  

One of the boys obliterated a couple sticks of chalk.  Now, this is something I have asked them not to do, scolded them for and required payment for replacement.  My logical, first-born, ordered, adult mind says, "If the purpose is to crush the chalk into powder than why buy sticks?"

After some cooling down, reconsidering and apologizing we decided to redeem the whole episode.  I need this redeeming in many areas of my life, like memory work and dealing with messes and failing and missing goals and accepting the unexpected, but I need these do-overs especially in mothering.

So we can take what we have right now, the crushed and the messy and the broken, and accept that it can be art.  Perhaps even a beautiful gift.  And sometimes it's as easy as adding water.