Moments of Grace: It's OK Daddy Can Fix It

We have a spot on our kitchen counter, by the telephone and the (dirty) windows, where there is typically a line up of broken toys waiting for Daddy's magic touch.

Saying goodbye to their hero as he heads off to  "bring home the bacon"!

It doesn't matter if the toys are worth 10 cents, or whether their injury is tiny (like when tiny figurine Ariel lost her nose!), or whether the toy has been broken 8 times before. ...it's always OK because Daddy can fix it. The part of me that hates junk and clutter always wants to get rid of broken toys. However, the children have the most staunch and everlasting conviction that their daddy will attempt to fix anything.  And so, I always tell them to put it up there and Daddy will take care of it when he has a chance.

We will finally get the children settled in bed and I'll come out to see him standing with tweezers in his hand and the handy gorilla glue meticulously restoring Ariel's nose or Thor's hammer tip. He always tries. He then has to set up some sort of crazy scenario to hold the repair in place while the glue dries. 

Most often the repair leaves the toy looking a little different than it was brand new. Sometimes, he has to tell them that he did his best but it might not last too long, and other times he has to tell them that there is really no way for him to restore life to the beloved toy.

Yet it struck me the other day that he is never ever bothered by the sweet line up of toys, or the requests for him to fix something. He stands taller knowing his children believe that he will always try, and no matter how many bigger or more important things he has on the go he will make time for their petitions.

Judah had a dream to play dress-up a kilt like Braveheart....so of course Daddy made time to cut up one of his old work shirts and even sewed a button on so it stayed up!

Wasting time with our children, such an important thing to do!

It struck me further that this must be how our Father in Heaven sees our prayers of petition. He doesn't mind, He isn't bothered, He rejoices in our hearts turned to him with our requests. I stop myself from bringing mundane or simple prayers to Him.....telling myself that there are bigger and more important things for Him to deal with. But when I think how Joe would be heartbroken if the children refrained from bringing their toys to him in their sweet clenched little hands, I can understand how our Father in Heaven desires for us to bring everything to Him and never believe that something is too mundane to bring to His throne. For He rejoices mostly in the unburdening of our hearts, the expressions of our worries, our fears, and even our requests of "Daddy will you fix this?"

Can He always fix it to make it like new? No. He knows when something is better left unfixed or slightly different than what it was before. But will He ever refuse to receive us? No. Will He ever scoff at our little needs? No. He loves our little line of broken things waiting for His magic touch.

I am so grateful for my little ones! May I treasure these days of little broken toys and sweet innocent hearts that believe a kiss can fix a bump or bruise. May my love show them the love of their Father in heaven. 

When a Man is Loved

Our DEAR ONES, near and far, how we love and miss you! We are all doing very well here in our little basement home, especially now that the -30 has passed. Joe behaved like a true Canadian yesterday when he went for a long walk in -4 degree weather because it felt so "warm" out!

Thoughts for today...

I am blessed with beautiful friends, the kind of friends who challenge me to love more deeply and with a constant eye to avoiding complacency or apathy in my expectations of self.

Thank you my wonderful friends!

The other day we had a long and engaging conversation about our husbands. Oh dear! BUT, get this, it was not to complain about this, that, or the other thing. Of course, men and women are so very different and I assume we all could have brought "complaints" to the table. Instead, it was to marvel at how good our men are, and to mourn the ways in which we so often fall short of loving them...when we nag or belittle them. It made me really reflect...how exactly are we as women to love the hearts we have been entrusted with in our men? Especially in this confusing world, this crazy world...where our good and faithful husbands are beset with so many challenges to their masculinity and fidelity?

Our Superhero...trekked through

the jungle to find perfect leaves to

shelter us from the storm :)

One wonderful lady led me to this bible verse in which St. Peter encourages women to point their men to higher things through their loveliness, gentleness, and beauty of spirit (among other things). Of course, he also encourages wives to obey their husbands. Some may take offence at that suggestion, but I don't think he was asking us to see ourselves as inferior to our husbands. Instead, he was suggesting just how we may encourage them to become the "best version of themselves." (As our dear friend Matthew Kelly would say!).

My Joe is an incredible man, but he is even MORE heroic when he knows that I am proud of him - that he is my prince, my knight, and that I need him. It is as though, when I offer myself to him to be taken care of, his chest puffs out, his shoulders go back, and he feels as though can conquer the world!

Now, this is not saying that I'm not perfectly capable of taking care of myself. As a matter of fact, sometimes it takes patience for me to let my husband do his thing instead of just taking the reigns and being bossy :) However, the amazing flip side of this whole deal is that when I make the effort to nudge my husband towards the greatness he is capable of through my femininity and gentle love, he is MORE romantic, MORE thoughtful, and MORE generous, than ever before.

I experience that it is ok to not be superwoman, I can allow myself to be loved, and most often I end up being spoiled! I am aware of total equality with my husband through our complementarity in our family. We both grow in virtue, and hopefully closer towards our eternal home.

I know this is radical to some, if not most. It certainly is not the message us women are given today about how to behave towards our men, and is probably worth a book...not a measly blog. Maybe, just maybe it is food for thought? What do you all think?

Love from the great frozen North!

XOXO