"I hate Facebook and everybody's perfect lives."
Occasionally, you even see a few posts expressing the same resentment. Those sentiments convict me, mainly because I hate to disappoint anyone, It's never been my intent to represent perfection. So tonight here's proof of my very imperfect life.
On the far end to the left of the stove three bananas purchased last weekend are ripening. I like bananas; I buy them nearly every week as they are the perfect snack before going to the gym and much better for me than the chocolate covered almonds you cannot see in this picture but which are also out and sitting on my cabinet. Eventually, they will turn black before I get to eat them and then they will sit until I make banana bread. Again, if company comes over, I will stash them in the freezer until I make the time for banana bread.
Clearly my life is not Facebook worthy as it falls precariously away from perfect.
Here's what is perfect though....
....the smiles of the girls in the photo clipped to the turquoise frame and the love of the friend who sent it to me...
....my son is wearing deodorant. We all need this to happen. Sometimes you have to go with what works.
...the papers on the fridge and desk provide ongoing information about the promise of Wade Garrett's future...
... graduation announcements reveal evidence that we are loved and the we love the children of our friends -- love and hope win...(the rest of it is just a mess Joey needs to pick up)
....my Sonic cup - a red straw, crunchy ice and the crisp cool taste of diet coke with lime... it's perfect. If you don't know, you'll just have to believe me.
...the books give me a perfect escape from a world with too many questions and allow my mind to connect with the asymmetry of language. Plus, Josie lets me share my books with her and as much as I love her, I also love the gap sharing them with her fills.
...the sunscreen is perfect protection from too much sun which I can easily absorb without a second thought, and I love the porch my Dub built for me.
... the magazines represent the wife I wish I was and aspire someday to be - more concerned with the ways of her home than anything else. For now, I am perfectly content to love pouring into other people's children even if it means my children's kitchen isn't perfect.
...the sewing project is one I want to finish, or continue and so it sits because that new bride is never far from my mind.
My kitchen isn't Facebook worthy and generally looks like this until my quest for control smacks me square upside the head, and I clean and holler like a banshee at my boys to pick up and do something besides sit in their chairs in front of the television. Attuned to my moods and manic behavior, they are oft to sit quietly until the storm passes. Perhaps the daddy will get up and throw away the gatorade bottle that has been sitting on the end table for the last three days or maybe he will just stand behind me wrapping his arms around my waist hoping his charm and presence will calm the rage. At the earliest and safest opportunity, the boy will escape the living room and become unreachable upstairs in his room under the guise of studying.
No, I don't have a Facebook worthy post but I do have the lesson I continually need to learn - "Everyday may not be good, but there's one good thing every day." Hopefully, my posts reflect what my mother always taught me about making my own happiness; hopefully the posts reflect that I am trying to be as grateful as my friend Rebecka tries to be; hopefully, the words I write bring light to a dark world just like our girl does.
So here's to my not so perfect kitchen - but to every good and perfect gift it has ever held.
James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
#golighttheworld
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