31 Days to Shine: The Antidote For Bitterness
“Light, even the faintest, smallest pinpoint of light, shatters the very darkest gloom.”
Sometimes the light can be hard to find. Life is full of hard things. Life is brutal, at times. We have to look for the light. Watch for it. Peer through darkness and gloom. Sometimes, we even have to wait a little.
Be patient, it’s there. You’ll find it in big and little places.
A sunrise, glowing wild on the horizon, vivid palette of beauty as a gift.
That tousled, sleepy head, in-and-out breathy snuffle that shoos the struggles of our day into the background. Was there a tantrum just an hour ago? I cannot remember, this sleeping face is too sweet.
Flowers and green. The government is shut down and yet the callas keep growing, they will bloom, and soon. Lilies of the field, neither do they toil nor spin, but ever lovely in the face of war, disaster, and burned dinner.
The nights I’ve spent in migraine agony, Sophie’s rumbling purr in the dark of night, a warm body curled against my hip, comfort in the simple form of companionship.
Daisies, every time. Pumpkins on the porch, hot lattes and chilled wine. Hugs. Boys who yell “MOMMMY!” and run at my knees as if I’d been gone a year, not a day. Clean sheets and warm quilts in a cold bedroom. Candles after dark. Moon rises and moonlight that turn night into day. The smell of bread, hot from the oven. Belly laughs.
That first night of friendship when you stay up late talking into the wee smas, realizing that there is someone else in the world who just gets you.
It’s everywhere, really. Turn your face toward the light, and the shadows fall behind you. It’s hard to be bitter in the face of beauty.
What scrap of beauty can you find to be thankful for today?
Be shiny today. Don’t just do it for yourself, do it for her. She needs your glow.
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Adelle Gabrielson 
Seems like these days my literary enlightenment opportunities are limited to the Mary Englebreit calendar. I had saved a page with a quote 🙂 that reminds me of what you shared today: “For lack of attention, a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day.” (Evelyn Underhill) How wonderful that you are noting these forms of loveliness in motherhood and life and are reminding us to do the same by what you are sharing! Thanks, Adelle!