Gray.
Washed out.
Worn out.
Just plain tired.
Do you feel as a mom sometimes that you just don’t have what it takes anymore?
That between the job, the kids, the finances, the stress, that you have been stripped of your joyful, colorful self?
I felt that way last year.
You know what I discovered?
That bright and vivid self, my richly colored core was still there.
Oh, yes.
It was just covered with layers and layers of “I don’t have time to eat right” and “I probably couldn’t get a job I really love” and “Well, I just have to get used to things the way they are.”
Ouch.
Have you ever taken a piece of furniture with great bones and hints of beauty, but one that somebody painted over with multiple layers of just plain ugly?
You take it home, you strip away all those hardened layers of grimy varnish and paint to find a warm and rich and beautiful piece underneath that absolutely glows.
That was me.
And I’ll bet that’s you too.
You, the real you, is in there.
The radiant, vivid, brilliant, technicolor, splendiforous you.
Please don’t settle for a barely-there version of you.
That’s not what your husband needs.
That’s not what your kids want.
And it certainly isn’t how God created you.
Grab a rag, put on some bright and bouncy music, invite a friend to help, and start scrubbing away to reveal your richly vivid self!
12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Every Friday I join Lisa-Jo over at The Gypsy Mama for her Five Minute Friday prompts. It’s an opportunity for each of us to stop, drop, and write. For fun, for love of the sound of words, for play, for delight, for joy and celebration at the art of communication.
We write bold and beautiful and free. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.
Won’t you join us? Follow the link above to read and be encouraged by what others have to share. We’d love to hear from you as well, so feel free to leave a comment today. Thanks for coming by!
Sharing at No Ordinary Blog Hop today
I had one of those years last year!!! The chips are being peeled away and I like what is underneath! Thank you for that VIVD picture. Visitng from TGM. (:
Welcome, Nicol! Love the image of the chips peeling away!
Amen! Here’s to living in vivid color!
Everyone, our Father Himself, wants the “the radiant, vivid, brilliant, technicolor, splendiforous” version of who we are!
Thank you, Kim, for the encouragement to peel off the “ugly” to reveal – and revel in – the true and beautiful self!
Amen, indeed! Thanks for the motivational kick-in-the-rear to live out my gratitude, Kim
Hi Anna & you are welcome! Your comment and Caroline’s make me think of a twist on an old hair coloring commercial for some reason. The original jingle went: I’m going to wash that gray right out of my hair. Our jingle goes like this: I’m going to let my brilliant colors show!
Love your description! Without intention…life can make us grey! Thanks for reminding us all to live in color!
Awesome post! Love it! Love the furniture comparison. Just great.
Oh I missed FMF yesterday, but I love your post!! What great colorful descriptions — grey is boring — I often write about how grey is so neutral in life. I say pick a color, stand tall, and stand up for something. Happy SITS day. Blessings
Positively Alene recently posted…coming face to face with human trafficking and the exodus road.