For the Sake of Joy

Create Anyways

Her hair flows in every direction, curls all around. Classic bed head. Little legs in tangerine covered pjs run around the house with a diaper that sags low. Potatoes roast in the oven. Toast rests in the toaster, waiting to pop up. The dishwasher door swings wide open, and glasses clink as I set them in the cupboard. 

“Can you eat breakfast with her while I finish getting cleaned up?” I yell out to my husband, while I hurry and continue with my task. My red curls are tangled up in a bun and I’m still in the t-shirt I threw on as I climbed out of bed.

“That’s fine, but I have to leave in just a few minutes.” He calls back, as he gathers his things.

Thursday mornings are hectic. Today marks our very last MOPS meeting, which is bittersweet. It’s also busy. I need to bring something to share- hence the potatoes. I also need to feed my child, run a brush through her hair, and probably change her diaper and clothes, so we can get out the door. Oh and it wouldn’t be the worst idea to take the time to put a little deodorant and clean clothes on myself.  

I can’t even take a second to breathe. There’s too many things on my to-do list.

//

The sun is close to setting. The kitchen sink is empty, and the dinner leftovers have been boxed up. There’s a little less than an hour until bedtime. I get down on my knees, in the middle of the kitchen floor, and lock eyes with my daughter. “Would you like to paint for a little bit?” 

Her lips round together and she gasps, which is what she does everyday when I say something that excites her.

She runs to the sage green dresser and patiently waits for me to pull out and gather supplies: bushes, paint trays, water jars, paper. When she spots the materials, she climbs up into a chair. 

“Let’s take this outside,” I tell her.

She squeals and runs to the backdoor. I unlock and open the sliding glass door and we both scurry down the steps.“Waiting, waiting, waiting” She sings.

I set out two paint pans, one blue mason jar filled with water, and a paper pad for each of us. Dip, dip, dip. Her arm moves with grace, and she decorates her paper with colors.

I mix red and yellow to make a peach color for a rose.

A moment of peace. A sigh of relief after a busy Thursday. A little bit of magic. 

//

The grass is freshly cut and the shade starts to cover the yard. I sit on the back step, an attempt to play with a little watercolor while my daughter is preoccupied at her water table.My ambition is quickly squashed by a million interruptions.

My straw is pulled in and out of my iced tea, little fingers dip into my paint tray, and finally, bark is poured on my pad of paper. 

I knew it wasn’t going to be this picture-perfect time to create, but I decided to do it anyway.

//

I peer around the corner to see what my busy girl is up to. She sits at the little table in her playroom that her aunt built for her. The wood top is white, but it’s covered in colorful markings. It sits against the wall underneath twine and clothespins that display her art. The sun shines through the shutters, as it sets on the front windows. She lives in her own magical world, joyfully working away on a pad of paper, with a box of crayons she dug out of a cubby. 

She glances up at me, only for a moment. I smile.

I’m reminded why I choose to create, even when the margins are small and the day feels hectic, without a spare moment to breathe.

Sometimes that looks like playing with watercolors, side by side for a few minutes before bed. Sometimes that looks like me on the floor with a notebook and pencil, while she builds with blocks or plays with stamps, quickly scribbling down words or phrases. Sometimes that looks like flour splattered all over the counter and floor as we make banana bread or cinnamon rolls.

Let’s be honest, it often looks like a million little interruptions, but that’s not all that’s true.

There’s a glimmer of wonder and magic, a glimpse of God’s glory when we choose to create in the tiny margins anyway, for the sake of joy.

Kendra

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This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Create Anyway"

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