Some nights, after the boys both go down to bed, the Mommy in me takes a little “me” time, and the girly girl inside comes out to play… With sugary hand scrub or scented lotion or silver nail polish.
At our family Christmas exchange this year, i “stole” an assortment of nail polishes from my husband who was lucky enough to pick the gift as the first number drawn. Tonight, I opened up the box and smiled a little girl’s smile at the colors that spotted the countertop before me.
I am the only girl in our home. I don’t wear as much pink or skirts or lipstick, but my heart still skips a beat when I see sparkles and glitter and jewels.
I painted my fingernails a sparkly silver, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I told my husband it was my first time to wear that color, and I was mesmerized almost as much as I was when he first gave me my diamond. It’s been awhile since I’ve stared at these hands.
My hands do a lot during the day.
They carry babies and toddlers up and down stairs and up and down again. They change diapers and stained clothes and pull wipe after wipe to clean dirty bottoms. They fold laundry and scrub the dinner table and scoop up crumbs off the floor and sweep and sweep again. They lift up little arms and pull them back from the refrigerator and back from the front door that’s closing and back from the oven that’s too hot. They wash cups and turn red and dry, and the skin cracks. They get older and aren’t as soft as they were last year.
And yet…
They are still beautiful. He tells me so.
“He has made everything beautiful in His time.” Ecclesiastes 3:11
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10
Beautiful. His masterpiece. Even with nails that are bitten, broken or bare.
Even if paint can’t cover the cracks, His Spirit can.
So Mommies, if you are like me, and you find that your hair is much less “done” than it used to be. You notice that your eyes are etched with more wrinkles than mascara and your skinny jeans still show a bump that didn’t go away after baby came, please remember that you still shine. You still sparkle like that diamond he got down on one knee to give the girl of his dreams, the mother of his babies. You still glow like the warm hug that you get before bedtime after your children hear you thank God for the gifts they are. You are still treasured as the Masterpiece designed by the Master Himself.
You are noticeably, incredibly, irreplaceably – you.
I’m thinking of you now as my silver nails type, and I smile at the reflection I see.
His reflection, we can see.
Take a moment for yourself today, and look for more of Him. Whether it’s in the sparkle of new polish or in the calming silence of nap time or in the prayer you say for nourishment as you prepare the crockpot for supper tomorrow, He has custom created you to enjoy Him, savor His beauty and His love.
Silver nail polish or not, sweet sisters, shine on.
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