Five minutes, that’s all it took.
I wanted to get mad, but my heart wouldn’t let me.
I opened my mouth to yell, but the joy on her flour-covered face forced me to smile instead.
In this moment, I thought of the precious babies lost in the unforgiving floodwaters on July 4th.
I thought of the parents forced to live in a world that keeps turning, but no longer makes sense – one without their child.
My heart ached for the mamas whose love has been turned inside out by unimaginable grief.
Grief that creates a wound that never fully heals and leaves hearts frozen in the moment their child was lost.
Over the last few days, I’ve caught myself weeping for people I don’t even know, but my heart knows….
My heart knows they’d give anything for just one more moment like this, to turn the corner and find a piece of their heart, covered in flour from head to toe.
So, I let her play for a little while longer as I sat back and soaked in every giggle and admired every flour-clad smile.
And later, while I wiped away the little, white footprints from my floor, I wept, because today…I’m grateful for the mess.
“Don’t be sad, because the joy from the Lord is your strength!” – Nehemiah 8:10
