Five Minute Friday: For When You See the Ugly

I wrote these both in one day, from two different writing prompts. The first word was ugly, and the second one was rest

Sometimes I see the ugly most. I look in the mirror and see wrinkles and dull eyes and neglected hair. I wander the house with my arms wrapped around a baby and all the things I hate stare at me — toys on every floor, dust thick on my dresser, stacks of books and papers, and baskets of laundry. Outside I notice brown ragged grass, sad houses, and tired store fronts. I see crumpled water bottles and lost receipts blowing through parking lots. Life is grey and old and too much and I don’t like any of it.

Sometimes I see the ugly.

And that tells me I need rest. My soul needs rest — time to still and quiet. My body needs rest — time to sleep. My mind needs rest — open spaces and beauty.  Rest. Rest happens when I go to bed before ten, when I pause and feel the goodness of a shower, when I look back and remember the love in my day. Rest happens in play, in good meals, in whispered prayer as I work, in the weight of a kind hand on my arm. Rest happens every morning under a blanket on the couch with a cup of coffee. Rest happens when I say “no” to another event, when the kitchen counters are clean (even if the dining room table isn’t), when I set a timer and write for five minutes, or ten. Rest happens when I look my man in the eye and ask a meaningful question and listen with my heart and not just my ears; rest happens when he does the same for me. Rest happens when I trim my schedule and my clutter and when I find peace in the middle of the mess that remains.

5 Comments

  1. That’s beautiful Bethany ! The way your words put thoughts onto paper. Thank you for lifting me up today sweet Niece ????

  2. Yes, the trimming and the ‘peace in the midst’ are both so much part of finding rest!
    We can cling to Jesus (He is himself our peace). And maybe that makes trimming easier, too?

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