God speaks to me through small, unexpected, and seemingly even insignificant moments. I hear him most clearly through the mouths of my children.
Like most everyone with young children, we have baby gates up around the house. One of them is a mesh, net type material. Somewhere along the way, a hole appeared in the mesh.
The other day, after a long day at work and about 5 hours of sleep, I sat with Ethan as he finished his dinner at a painstakingly slow toddler pace and the other two ran around like lunatics on fire. They were being absolutely precious but even still, I could feel my patience slipping. It was already 7:30 and the minutes left in our day were disappearing along with my mom of the year award.
Ethan stood up and started looking at the hole in the gate as he chewed his food. The boys have been known to play with the hole, which of course, makes it bigger. So, I was preparing myself to say, “Ethan, leave the hole alone and EAT YOUR FOOD PLEASE!!” with as much patience as I could muster, when all of a sudden, he gets a sweet look on his face and says, “Mom, Its a beautiful hole!”
I don’t know about you, but things like that just break my bad mood right open.
The perspective of a child is truly a gift. Never in my life have I looked at a hole like that and thought, “Its beautiful.”
But kids do.
And God does.
The inside of my heart and soul often look like that mesh gate. Full of thousands of little holes and sometimes, really big ones. But God sees them and calls them beautiful.
I don’t think it’s the hole itself He calls beautiful so much as His ability to fill it. That’s where I find beauty through the broken places of my soul.
Where there are holes, God’s love can come in. Where there is brokenness, His grace can mend it.
So often we try to fill those holes, voids and broken places with other things. With people. Bad habits. Busyness. Addictions. We are uncomfortable in our incompleteness and rather than allowing the only One who can truly complete us to work through the holes, we seek and search on our own.
It is in those times of seeking and searching on my own that I find all I do, is tear the hole bigger.
I believe children are where heaven and earth meet. There is something holy about our babies and their ability to see not only truth, but beauty in its purest form. Our children’s hearts are tucked right into God’s hands and I believe that is why I hear God most clearly through my boys.
They see things we don’t. They understand things we can’t. They find joy in the things we miss. And they find beauty everywhere.
I believe it’s God’s way of reminding me not only of the gift I’ve been given through my children, but the gift we’ve all been given through His son.
Jesus makes all of our holes beautiful. Where we see damage, he sees healing. Where we see pain, he sees redemption. Where we are weak, he is strong. Where we find flaw, he sees beauty.
I know of nothing braver than standing there with our flaws wide open, holes showing, heart bruised, trusting God to meet us right there in our brokenness. I know of nothing more courageous than lifting our broken hearts toward Heaven, believing that God will fill every empty place.
He will, you know?
Because when he looks at you, he sees his daughter. He sees his son. He sees perfection. Not because you are perfect, but because He is; and where you have holes, He can fill them.
He looks at your broken heart and says, “Its a beautiful hole!”
Whatever your holes are, let Him fill them. 
Thanks for reading! One click=One vote!
Three Boys and a Mom 
This is lovely and so true. When Elijah was three, he looked at our trash can and said, “Beautiful trash.” I never forgot it because it was so contradictory. Yet, he saw something I apparently couldn’t, perhaps something between him and God. Ten years later, he is still getting me to see the unexpected beauty God creates all around us and through us. All my kids are. Thank you for the important reminder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kids are such a gift!! Thank you Marisa!
LikeLike
It is amazing how kids have the ability to do that, isnt it? The things my children help me to realize and be grateful for is something I try not to take for granted. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really is amazing! Their perspective of life is just beautiful and it is such a valuable reminder to me every day of how I should be living my life. Thank you Lauren!
LikeLike
So true! Great post! It’s all how you look at things, and in our adult mode we have things to do and get done, but to a child, they see it all!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely! Kids remind us what matters and they teach us truth through such small moments! It’s a beautiful thing!
LikeLike
Great insight!!! Insight that helps me remember that in God’s eyes we are beautiful no matter what.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen Lisa! I’m glad this reminded you of that. Thank you for reminding me too!
LikeLike
What a precious little boy you have! I agree with your beautiful words. It’s important not to fill up our holes with things, people, addictions, etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely Melissa. Thank you… He is an amazing and precious gift!
LikeLike
From the mouths of babes….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right!? ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this! Melts my heart as i know that it did yours. Out of the mouth of babes… We are spiritual beings born to communicate with God. God knew just the words that would melt your heart and bring your joy back at that exact moment… and He used your baby to do it. God bless you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh this is beautiful and so true. God reaches me through them on a daily basis and it is so cool! Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is lovely. I ran short of patience at the end of today and really needed this reminder. Thank you! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh I’m so glad to be able to remind you of something important as my son did me. Thanks for being here!!
LikeLike
Kids are a connection to a higher place, for sure. They come with a lot of noise and dirt. Noise covered in dirt, as Rory of Time Out for Mom likes to say. But there’s so much beauty in what they do, and especially what they say. I’m impressed and grateful you have an ear for those words when they happen (even amid chaos), that you see the meaning behind them, and that you share them with us, here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh this was beautifully stated Eli. Thank you for seeing that and for appreciating it. Kids really are our connection to higher things and I am so grateful and blessed!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] 1. One of my very first posts: Crazy, Beautiful, Perfect, Mess 2. A pivotal point in letting go of my marriage: Letting Go of the Broken Mirage 3. Valuable lessons I learned from my kids: Big Lessons from Small Souls 4. Celebrating motherhood in all its stink: Power to the Showerless 5. When Love Ends in a Courtroom 6. Comic relief: Moms Say the Danrndest Things 7. Being home for my boys: Home Is Where The Heart Is 8. The joys of boys: You Know You Belong To Boys When 9. Finding Beauty in the Broken 10. Trying to drink coffee as a mom: How a mom enjoys her coffee in 97 steps 11. A lesson on love and shoes: I’ll Make It Fit 12. The transition from single stay at home mom to single full time working mom: The Cost of Motherhood 13. Coping with my first over night visitation: You can run, but you can’t hide 14. Comic relief for early mornings with kids: How to survive early mornings with young kids 15. An open letter to my ex: You’re Missing Everything 16. Encouragement for single moms facing visitation 17. Accepting the holes in our lives and allowing God to fill them: It’s a Beautiful Hole […]
LikeLike
[…] but also who I often believe I’m not. The old tired lies that rise to the surface at the first sign of weakness in my […]
LikeLike