Dirty Fingerprints Keeping Me Sane

I have a full length mirror in my bedroom. And it is covered with fingerprints.

You may be surprised to hear that they do not belong to my children.

And yet- I don't want to clean them away.

Yes, I have paper towels and rags. Yes, I have vinegar and water. I even have glass cleaner.

And yet- I don't want to clean them away.

Especially on my lowest days. Days when I feel like I can't possibly go on. Days when I don't know where I will find the strength to parent the two children that I already have- let alone the one to come in a couple of months.

Those are the days that I glance at my dirty, finger-printed mirror and feel peace.

Because this mirror acquired those finger prints when I recently moved into my new home. When my church and friends and family- and even strangers that I had never met- showed up at my apartment door and said 

"We will help".

"This is too much for you to do on your own."

"Let us lift and move and carry when you cannot."

This mirror acquired those fingerprints when a friend said "I will help organize your move, because everything is simply too overwhelming for you right now."

This mirror is covered with fingerprints. And I am thankful.

I am thankful for the friends that I have made over the years that came out to help my get my house ready to move into.

I am thankful for my closest friends that are better to me than I am sure I deserve. 

I am thankful for my church family that comes around me when I need it most. That I have a community that I know will pick me up when I fall. That I can trust would feed me if I were hungry. And that love me though I am far from perfect.

And, I am thankful because I know that when I am no longer feeling so low- that I will be able to be there for someone else. I will help pick them up when they stumble and fall. Because that is a community. That is a family.

And at that time, when the sun shines clearer in my life- I will wipe my mirror clean so that I can bask in it's warmth, light and beauty.

But for now, as the clouds loom over my head, those fingerprints will remain.

And that's okay. It's those dirty fingerprints that are keeping me sane.

Blessings.