FEATURE STORY
I was up early and I often sit in the front room…the room that was my daughter’s when she was growing up. But right after she got married, we immediately painted, changed out the furniture, and all the décor. I just couldn’t bear looking at the memories of her! And this particular morning that I was sitting in there for a quiet time, I was looking around to see if there might be any traces of her from more than 15 years ago…when she was here. There weren’t any, and it made me sad.
​
Not only was I sitting there in the quiet, I had just looked in the mirror and noted that there was still glitter on my face from the night before. I love to add a little glitter eyeshadow when we go out, but it’s hard to get off – even with makeup remover! So this morning, the same morning I was looking for traces of my daughter, I sat there with traces on my face from last night. The glitter stuck and lingered, reminding me of the good time from the night before.
​
I guess it was sort of like the same thing was happening. I was looking for the glitter from when my daughter too left her mark. She used to have border wallpaper of dogs when she was little, then that was removed as she became a teen. The carpet was a mess from living as a teen, but that was now replaced with clean beautiful carpet, and the walls too have been repainted. Of course, all of her things are gone, because she doesn’t live at home anymore.
​
I was sitting there just trying to imagine and remember all the different décor and things she had in her room. I remember a cute bulletin board that she decorated,
posters of her favorite celebrities (one was Jonathan Taylor Thomas from Home Improvement!) I recall that she wanted a bunk bed, so we got her one, and how her room was so often a wreck and the constant tension between my urging her to clean, and her spending hours doing so – only to have a whirlwind mess in less than 24 hours.
​
All of that “glitter” lingered in my mind, and I wasn’t remembering the arguments or the frustration, but rather my daughter and her spunk, her energy, her personality that shone through in all that she did. My son’s room is equally missing the “glitter” from when he was at home. There’s only one thing in there that remains, and it’s a wall my husband covered with sheet metal, for all the magnetic road signs my son collected, along with sports magnets.
​
But just like that glitter from my eyeshadow remained on my face and I could see it that morning, I was reminded how the glitter of the kids and their time at home remains forever planted in my heart and mind. Sometimes, a wave of sadness overtakes me at all that’s gone, now that they’re grown and have been married over a decade – both of them! And they left an imprint on our home that will never be washed away or forgotten.
​
Children grow up so fast, as even young parents realize when they turn around and their newborn is now a toddler about to be 2 years old. And then when grandchildren arrive, we of the older generation cannot believe how fast they hit middle school. How can that be? They were just infants!
​
I felt a bigger wave of comfort come over me, when I cried a little poured out my heart to Him about missing the kids’ glitter. I then realized that it’s not gone, nor will it ever be. Our kids will always be our kids, no matter their age. We love seeing them become parents and watching them deal with all the hard things with their newborns. It’s thrilling to see them succeed in their careers, and watch them grow in relationships with their spouses and/or friends. It’s super hard to see them suffer, but we remember God’s faithfulness to us when they were little and skinned their knees or broke up with a boyfriend, or lost a tournament, or a friend moved away. He was faithful then and our kids grew up and thrived, and he will be faithful now as their kids arrive and enter this fast-moving world.
​
Glitter is the stuff that gets sprinkled around for celebrations, or the colorful explosion out of a pop-up card, or it’s tossed onto art pieces to make them sparkle. Glitter catches the light and makes us smile. And do you know why glitter is glittery? The effect is created by reflecting light. Each glitter particle acts like a mirror, and within the structure of glitter is a very thin layer of aluminum 2500 times thinner than a human hair. The sole purpose of this layer is to reflect light.
​
When I read this explanation, I felt such comfort. I remembered that God knows how many hairs are on our heads. And this reflection in the glitter is a thin strand 2500 times thinner than our strands on our head! And yet, it creates reflected light.
​
Even though there are no memories or traces of the kids in their rooms when we sit quietly and reflect, or maybe we’ve moved to a completely different house and left all memories behind…there is GLITTER…reflections of His light that will shine for eternity in our families and in our homes.
​
Babies are born, and the glitter begins. We train them and love them, and the glitter gets tossed. They grow up and leave and start their own lives…and the glitter explodes. And lots of the particles are left on our faces, around our eyes, and next to our hearts every time we see the kids, hear their voices, observe their lives and yes…even pray for their needs…because of the Light.
​
The glitter. I’m going to keep wearing that cool eyeshadow from time to time just to let a little of the glitter linger on my face to remind me of His great love for my children…more than I can ever comprehend…in his fascinating care for them…and for me.