The Beautiful Wreck

The laundry keeps on growing.

The dishes fill the sink.

I clean one room; they mess up two

before I have time to think.

There’s toothpaste on the counter.

Tiny fingerprints on glass.

Crumbs appear beneath the table

faster than the vacuum can pass.

There are shoes beside the doorway.

There are backpacks on the floor.

Three kids can make a quiet house

feel anything but quiet anymore.

But there are full and happy bellies.

There are giggles down the hall.

There are big belly laughs at dinner

that somehow make up for it all.

There are stories told at bedtime.

There are arms around my neck.

There are three little lives unfolding

in the middle of this beautiful wreck.

And sometimes, in all the chaos,

I forget what all this means:

The mess is here because they are

living loudly in between.

These days are gifts from Your good hand,

each moment held by grace.

Like arrows in a warrior’s hands,

You’ve placed them in this place.

So help me not grow weary, Lord,

or miss what You have done.

Teach me to see Your blessings here

in every daughter, every son.

One day the sink will empty.

The laundry piles will end.

The mirrors will stay spotless

when I wipe them clean again.

One day their rooms will quiet.

Their shoes will leave my floor.

Their lives will happen somewhere else,

beyond our little door.

I’ll wait for calls and visits.

I’ll count the days till they come through.

And I’ll miss the mess that followed

everywhere my children grew.

So tonight, I’ll leave some laundry.

The dishes too can wait.

Because a clean house will not be remembered

when these little years escape.

Give me full and happy bellies.

Give me laughter filling rooms.

Give me fingerprints and dirty floors,

and let their joy still bloom.

Help me treasure every season,

and trust Your perfect plan.

May they always know Your love,

held safely in Your hands.