view from the valley

Outside the wind howls as I survey my domain: on the counter the remains of lunch, a box of band-aids from doctoring a finger, items from yesterday's shopping. On the table some discarded clothing, a puzzle, a dirty plate, a sticky note. On the coffee table a dirty diaper, a bottle of medicine, books, school papers, a box of crayons. Floor littered with kid-made, mom-made, dog-made clutter. I fight the daily feeling that this physical clutter is what matters. I sit on the couch in the little sliver of afternoon sunshine, and I find Malachi's paper.

He pulled it from his backpack the other day, said casually, "Want to see what I did at school today?"

I read in his careful, scrawling, just-learned cursive the words to 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

"This is very good," I say, still not fully engaged. "Did you all do this together?"

"No, I just found that verse in my book at free time and decided to copy it."

He has my attention. "What made you want to do that?"

"Oh, I just like that verse and I want to hang it in my room to remember it."

"Do you know what this verse means, son?"

"Yeah." Still in that bright, confident, first-grade voice. "It means that if we confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness, He will forgive us and heal us."

My eyes are filling with tears now. I grab him in a hug, tell him how glad I am that he loves God's word and wants to remember it.

My seven year-old used his free time to copy scripture. While his friends were playing, chattering, or dreaming, he found a verse he liked and wrote it down, just because. And he fully believes that verse, fully expects it to be true.

Once again Malachi is God's messenger to me. All these moments are His. There is grace for every sinner, faith for the smallest child, peace for the most harried mother. The wind is howling outside, but I am sitting in warm sunshine.