The Good Mess: Finding Beauty in Imperfect Momentsናሙና

Poop on the Stairs

By Elaine Fisher

This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. –Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

I had my four kids close together in age, so a good five-year stint of my life felt like we used a bajillion diapers a day. I honestly thought the diaper phase would never end. I dreamed about it. I prayed for it and celebrated when each one graduated to the potty.

But I’ll never forget the day my third child, Preston, decided to take off his poopy diaper and very carefully slide his sweet little butt down the carpeted stairs (just like we’d taught him) all the way into the living room.

Poop was everywhere. I mean everywhere!

My first reaction was to cry. Hours of cleaning ahead felt overwhelming. But something in me said, “Choose laughter.” Perhaps it was growing up hearing stories about eating pie off the floor. Whatever the reason, I chose to laugh. Instead of crawling back into bed and dreaming about a diaper-free future, I cleaned up my son, gave him a hug, deep-cleaned the carpet, and sold my house. (We really did sell the house a few months later for reasons unrelated to poopy stairs.)

Now, I would love to have another day in diaper season. I know there were days I didn’t fully embrace time with my littles. I kept looking ahead to the next season, the next bit of freedom, instead of being present in the everyday moments.

Recently, I was helping Adde wash her hair. I grabbed my phone to look at something, but I heard the Lord say, “Put down your phone.” Not sure what to do while waiting for her, I asked Adde if she wanted to talk to me about anything. She started sharing about how someone made a gesture at school and how her friends had made fun of her because she didn’t know what it meant. It was weighing heavily on her. Although I would rather have been cleaning poop off the stairs than talking about what she saw at school, I was happy to speak life and truth to her. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. One day I’ll look back and be thrilled that I put my phone down and embraced this moment.

While we numbly stare at our phones, the world passes by. While we focus on hardships, the good things go unnoticed. While we worry about the future, our present wastes away. Ferris Bueller wisely said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

The Bible says to rejoice in each day the Lord has made (see Psalm 118:24) and not to worry about tomorrow (see Matthew 6:34). Don’t miss the blessing of the season you’re in because you’re looking for the next one. When I was a stay-at-home mom, I thought being a working mom would be easier. When I became a working mom, I kind of wanted to go back! I am learning to be grateful for the season I’m in right now.

Each day is a blessing to cherish, even if there’s poop on the stairs!

Finding Beauty in the Mess

How can you be mentally and emotionally available for the people around you today? Do you need to put down your phone? Do you need to stop worrying about the future? Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about where you are and how to be fully present in it.