We were cruising along the lake path one afternoon when Joshua spotted a green gully filled with murky water.
The crooning frogs begged us to pause and investigate their shadowy home, and my mud-loving son accepted their invitation with a quick screech of his brakes.
We parked our wheels in the tall weeds and shuffled our way toward the bottom of the small ravine.
We crouched at the puddle’s edge and watched the dragon flies dancing atop the brown hazy water.
As Josh dug trenches with his fingers in the loose dirt, I grabbed a dusty gray stone and tossed it into the puddle. Brown ripples raced across the liquid mire.
“That looked like Mickey Mouse!” Joshua squealed as he pointed to the wobbly circles moving over the water’s surface. “Let me try!”
We scavenged for more rocks and settled ourselves on the perimeter of the watery canvas. Then, one by one, we flung our rocks across the muddy pool.
We listened to the melodic plunk of water greeting stones and studied the resulting ripples like one might study the puffy images in the changing clouds.
We watched as rainbows and brown bears and starry skylines took shape in the ripples at our feet. And we applauded each masterpiece in the mud.
“We’re puddle painters!” Josh declared with a giggle.
But then he paused before he tossed his next stone.
He rolled the dusty rock over and over in the palm of his hand and he turned to me, serious eyes probing. “Do you think God sees the pictures in the plop?”
My gaze shifted from my son’s earnest face to the muddy pool at our feet, and my mouth echoed my heart’s gleeful laugher as I considered the marvelous thought.
I rumpled my youngest son’s windblown hair and squeezed his slender shoulder with love.
“Definitely,” I answered more for myself than the inquiring mind beside me. “I think God sees pictures in every plop.”
We lingered long, crouched on the edge of that puddle.
Tossing and listening.
Laughing and looking.
Wondering how many times we’d passed this very spot without noticing the possibilities in the puddle.
The sun began to sink and the frogs tried to sing out the moon.
So we tossed our final stones and hiked back up the gully’s edge.
Silently, we turned our bicycles toward home where four more hungry kids and a half dozen piles of dirty laundry and a sink full of sullied dishes awaited.
We veered off the path toward our driveway and Josh flashed me a satisfied grin.
“Thanks for plopping rocks with me, Mommy,” he said, green eyes shimmering. “We should do that every day.”
I nodded in agreement and whispered a quiet prayer.
Lord, give me eyes to spy Your artistry in my ordinary.
Grant me a soul that sees your ripples of grace cascading across my commonplace days.
Then I headed inside to tackle those dirty dishes and invited Josh to join me at the kitchen sink.
‘Cause I was certain that if we looked closely at that murky dish water, we’d find one more picture in the plop.
The Overflow: “…open your eyes and see— how good GOD is. Blessed are you who run to him.” -Psalm 34:8 Counting all as grace… 1474. The boom of thunder in the morning darkness, the caress of raindrops on the window. 1475. Spending an afternoon with a friend who understands– thankful for her willingness to plop right in the middle of my messy kitchen and chat while I cook supper 🙂 and clean up the lunch dishes still piled high. 1476. A letter from Hannah on my pillow at the end of a frustrating day.. “Mommy, I love you so much..” 1477. Liz putting “pillow mail” in her little siblings’ beds 1478. The clunk of a tennis ball on the garage door.. Josh’s newest love! 1479. Maggie reading books to the kitty 1480. Her ballerina spin in that new silver dress… “Do you see me sparkling?” Linking again in community with Ann and these lovely grace seekers: l.l. for on, in, and around mondays, laura for playdates with god, and jen for soli deo gloria
When my girls say sweet things like that, wanting Momma’s affirmation, it just makes my heart swoon.
I think I say this every week and I’m sorry for the repetition, but your writing style is so lovely. 🙂 The pace if perfect, the descriptions right on and so lovely. What a joy your children will have in your blog someday.
love how you caught the artistry in the moment with your son…”pillow mail” made me smile…blessings, Alicia…and Congrats on your article in Proverbs 31…just read it 🙂
yes, He is new and re-creating every moment for those who have eyes to see. love the creativity and imagination of kids. and love that you’re a mom who can learn from them — our best teachers.
Just love a child’s point of view! Beauty and perspective is in the eye of the beholder. Whether we choose to see the mud or the possibilities it holds is up to us.
Thanks for sharing that moment through your son’s eyes!
What a beautiful story! Out of the mouth of babes! 🙂 Thank you for sharing! We’re neighbors over a Seedlings in Stone 😉 Blessings! simplyhelpinghim.com
So we tossed our final stones and hiked back up the gully’s edge. 
Linking again in community with Ann and these lovely grace seekers: 
“Do you see me sparkling?”
When my girls say sweet things like that, wanting Momma’s affirmation, it just makes my heart swoon.
I think I say this every week and I’m sorry for the repetition, but your writing style is so lovely. 🙂 The pace if perfect, the descriptions right on and so lovely. What a joy your children will have in your blog someday.
love how you caught the artistry in the moment with your son…”pillow mail” made me smile…blessings, Alicia…and Congrats on your article in Proverbs 31…just read it 🙂
yes, He is new and re-creating every moment for those who have eyes to see. love the creativity and imagination of kids. and love that you’re a mom who can learn from them — our best teachers.
Puddle painting. What a beautiful act of creation. I love this:
“Lord, give me eyes to spy Your artistry in my ordinary.”
I echo that prayer for my life, too…
Just love a child’s point of view! Beauty and perspective is in the eye of the beholder. Whether we choose to see the mud or the possibilities it holds is up to us.
Thanks for sharing that moment through your son’s eyes!
Truth that comes from kids … so sweet.
Wow! What questions from your little one, I love it:) Your family sounds so sweet!
sweet…sweet story…wonderful time with your kids…love gift 1476:)
What a beautiful story! Out of the mouth of babes! 🙂 Thank you for sharing! We’re neighbors over a Seedlings in Stone 😉 Blessings! simplyhelpinghim.com