Valentine's Day

If you meet me, you'll find out pretty quickly that I am Type A. I love to be organized. I loathe inefficiency and clutter. Administration is my spiritual gift.

So being a mom doesn't always mesh well with my personality type. I had to quickly choose between lightening up or being an organization dictator, and I chose the former. The dictator thing wasn't good for my blood pressure.

Kids are messy, and then they start school. And they start bringing home papers.

So. Many. Papers.

And my oldest wants to keep all the papers. I'm not kidding when I say she would keep every single scrap of paper that she has ever come in contact with if it was up to her. She would also display them prominently throughout the house.

Now, listen. I love my kids. And I love to display their work. But there comes a point where I run out of lightening up-ness and also wall space. We've had to designate some areas where their favorite projects are hung and it seems to be a compromise that works for everyone.

So the other day when Addison hollered from another room, "Mom, I made a Valentine's decoration. Can we hang it on the wall?" I started reorganizing that space in my head, trying to figure out where we could put her latest work of art.

Then she came into the room where I was. She held up her work--a string of red hearts cut out of a single piece of paper--and she was so proud. It was the first time I'd let her use "big girl" scissors all by herself and she had meticulously drawn and cut out her hearts in the hopes that she could help decorate our home. By God's sweet mercy, I was able to respond with grace and affirmation.

"I love it, B," I said. "And I would love to hang it on the wall.  We can put it anywhere you want. It will be a perfect Valentine's decoration."

She beamed.

And she picked the spot that's the first thing you see when you enter our house.

The simple acts of acknowledging her hard work and inviting her to help create beauty in our home seemed to give her a sense of pride and belonging. I loved doing that for my girl. And I love that God has brought me to a place where I can do that. Where I don't have to have things my way. Where I don't let my selfishness and sinful need to control force my kids' creativity into "designated areas." Where a little clutter and some mismatchy decorations are worth the Kingdom love it allows me to sow in their hearts.

I can do this because this is what God does for us. He acknowledges our hard work. He invites us to help create beauty in His world. As a mom, this is incredibly encouraging. Often the beauty we create is in the hearts of our littles, behind closed doors where no one sees us. No one sees us doing our best. No one sees us meticulously working away, shaping the hearts of these small people in our care. No one sees the moments where our kids get it right and we're beaming with pride. But He does. He sees. And I think He is so proud of us.

So when I am able to respond to my kids with grace--when I can affirm and acknowledge them--it's only because I've had a phenomenal example. I've been watching my Father.

Happy Valentine's Day.