What’s in a mud pie…
You might think mud pies are made with a bit of mud, sticks and leaves. Not our mud pie. Ours needed an additional 14 hours of co-regulation, copious screen time, a special picnic packed, and brute force to get out the door. It's even more than just that day...
It's in the daily choosing to do all the things you said you'd never do as a parent... and repenting for the earlier days when you passed judgment on others...
It's always having plans A-Z ready to action, knowing the preparation will likely get tossed aside and be unappreciated...
It's going to four shops to find the ball that bounces just right... and hiding two more away for when they get lost...
It's in the washing him, dressing him, brushing his teeth for him... doing things he knows how to do by himself, knowing his little brother will soon surpass him...
It's scooping up all those arms and legs, laying his head on your shoulder, and rocking him so he can make it to school that day...
It's doing whatever it takes to make daily life cost him less so he can live a little more in the present.
It's trying to figure out how to keep yourself ok so you can keep him ok...
It's daily remembering Jesus is on the throne, just like He was when He knit him together in my womb...
It's holding the tension of temporary life, calculating the cost of each social interaction... and eternal life, watching him understand Who the Holy Spirit is and embrace the love of God...
It's the love of brothers, the strength of a family, and the kindness of a Heavenly Father Who penned this present moment in for our good.
This mud-caked fingernails, fully-present moment was carefree and lightening. It took much to get there and only lasted ten minutes. It was the teeniest, tiniest, worthiest reminder of the much more costly journey of Jesus. He was; He is; He endured so much more. He gave His life so I could live abundantly amidst my messes.
And suddenly mud-caked floor mats in my van and the souvenir stick we brought home become altars of remembrance. Because He's worthy.