Flaky Mascara

Y’all, I went to church yesterday without showering. 

::gasp::

I mean, I MEANT TO- I had all the best plans when I rolled out of bed early Sunday morning to shower and blow dry and fancy schmancy myself up before worship.

And then life happened.

 Breakfast ran long because there were about 14 sibling conflict conferences to oversee and I forgot to run the dishwasher the night before and there were literally zero clean spoons available for our oatmeal. (Except the iced tea ones, and that’s like trying to eat breakfast off a butter knife.)

I wrapped up breakfast and was juuuuuust headed to grab a quick shower when it happened. The Big Feelings exploded and I was hit with a tidal wave of Motherhood Responsibly. One of our awesome kids made a mistake, and to them- it was the end of the WORLD. It wasn’t, honestly- but they developed a sort of tunnel vision about it and nothing was changing their minds. 

“But Mooooooom- I KNEW NOT TOOOOOOOOO! I’m so sorry!!!!” 

This spiral of tears and angst and guilt started and it was picking up speed like whoa. I looked at my watch and realized that time was reeeeeeeally getting away from me. I thought for a hot second about getting angry with them, shutting them down with a Level 10 “Quit Crying or I Will Give You Something To Cry About” (BECAUSE SOMETIMES THAT IS NECESSARY) and jumping in the shower. But then, looking at their crushed face staring up at me, I realized something they needed more: GRACE. 

This precious soul was hurting. Dramatically, yes. But hurting all the same. And I just sort of crumbled a little inside because I realized looking at them, that they were having a for them Real Life Struggle with the concept of forgiveness and grace. Sure, in my eyes their infraction was minor- but to them it wasn’t. It was enough to break their little heart. To wound them in a very, VERY real way. And if I didn’t stop now to help reinforce this foundation for them now, what will we be facing together 7 years from now??

So I didn’t ever get around to that shower I needed. I piled them into my lap, wiped their face and we prayed. I reminded them of how special they are. To me. To Jesus. And how excited He is when just one sheep returns to the right path. How amazing it is that once we’ve asked for forgiveness, that He can’t remember what He forgave. 

I whispered in their ear as they hiccuped into my armpit how much I loved them. How God’s love for them was even better than mine because He never gets impatient or irritated or stressed out. They sat for a minute, doing that weird post cry shaky breathing and when they stood up on their own, the light on their face told me I made the right call. Dry shampoo was going to be as good as it was gonna get for me. 

I went to church yesterday with two day old flaky mascara, but my kid showed up with a fresh supply of grace. And I’m totally OK with that. And I’m stopping to write it down because I hope I can remember this the next time I have greasy hair and a kid with  a Defining Moment itn front of me. 

Bless it. 

Thanks for stopping by! -Katie