little graces

As we pulled into the driveway tonight, Frances asked about our neighbor's dog. Was Ms. Patsy sad because her dog was gone? Honestly, I didn't think the kids were paying attention on Halloween night when Ms. Patsy told us of the dog's passing. But, of course, they heard. They listened to her words, even when they seemed engrossed in their candy, and they registered her sadness. After I explained that Ms. Patsy's dog had died, and that yes she was sad because she loved and missed her little friend, Frances quickly determined that we should do something nice for her. As soon as we entered the house, Frannie grabbed paper and started making a card...and Barnes and Shepherd joined right in.

I wrote three times in September, zero times in October. I've been trying to work more, yet mothering the same amount. We're currently dealing with pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and a back injury. We're looking at kindergartens. I'm trying to be more intentional with each of my four babies as individuals.  I'm potentially cancelling my first weekend away all by myself since the kids were born...for the second year in a row. As it is for everyone else, life is just a lot. Most nights, my well runs pretty dry.

I'm so thankful that I believe in a God who shows up in the little moments. Many yearn for spiritual mountaintops, but I feel God's love most tangibly in the mundane. I was so done with parenting today, but on the way home from dinner my possibly possessed stereo system (I really never know what might come on when I crank the car) decided to play sweet music by my dear friend. Music that reminded me that "little pieces of a broken heart" are enough. That we don't have to be whole and shiny to come to our Lord. That He takes us as we are....broken, bruised, cranky, needing medication.

And God took it from there. Shepherd made up some crazy story about how a fairy godmother had sprinkled his ear with magic dust and now it talked to him (but only he can hear it, of course). We voted unanimously that everyone's cough should go away. We made cards for our sweet neighbor, indulged in a little Halloween loot, and ended the day smiling on a night that could have easily gone awry.

What would I do without these little graces? These little graces, that though they are small in the scheme of life, often have huge impacts on my day? My prayer tonight is that I keep my eyes open, noticing and giving thanks for God's graces as they come, and teaching my kids to be ever aware of all the magnificent ways God loves his children.