Please no.

That was my thought when my 5 year old woke me up one Saturday morning with a paint brush in hand saying, “I want to paint our pumpkins!” While this idea may seem sweet, toddlers and paint always makes for a messy experience. I also had just hand picked beautiful pumpkins from the farmers market and overpaid for them. I loved the unique colors God had given each pumpkin and now I watched as my toddler pulled out bright blue and red paint. “Ugh, fine, you can paint them,” I muttered.

I will admit that my attitude wasn’t great about it all. My son, now also covered in paint, was so proud of his pumpkins. My almost two year old got in on the fun as well and they slathered paint on all the pumpkins they could manage to pick up. Once they were all displayed again in my front of my home, I felt embarrassed. I wanted to have lovely fall decorations like my neighbors. It was only then that God gave me a new perspective. It was almost as if I could picture myself years from now with pristine, gorgeous pumpkins on my porch, but accompanied by a twinge of longing for those tiny fingers that once rearranged them daily. Suddenly I realized my paint covered pumpkins were not ugly, but beautiful kid creations.

Now when I steal a glance at my porch, I don’t notice the wild smeared paint or crazy colors. I instead see little finger prints and the sweetness that crafted these unique fall decorations just for me. It’s helping me be aware that one day all too soon, things will be pristine again and I will somehow miss the chaos these painted pumpkins represented in my life.

There may be a part of your life that is challenging right now, but imagine years from now that the problem is gone. What might you miss from this season? Looking for the sweetness in the challenging is helping me find gratitude these days! – Joy

If you feel overwhelmed as a parent, you need to read this.