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While brushing my teeth this morning, I stopped suddenly and leaned forward: how on earth was there glitter on my face? I ran through what I’d done since my morning shower: got dressed (no glitter clothes), found shoes (without glitter), combed my hair (with a plain comb). Where did the glitter come from???
I don’t know. I know I removed it from my face, finished brushing my teeth, and then found another speck on the other side of my face. There may or may not still be glitter on my face now, in the evening. I don’t know where the glitter comes from. I don’t know where the glitter goes. I don’t understand how it shows up without my knowledge.
I do know that when glitter shows up out of nowhere like this, I think of Josh, a teen who once told our youth group: Grace is like glitter. You don’t have to ask for it, or earn it, or be looking for it. You don’t have to think you want it or need it. It just shows up, and even when you think you’ve managed to do something that puts you beyond its reach…there it is again.
Because of Josh, every time I find an unexpected speck of glitter, I know: here is God’s grace and love. I smile, sometimes despite myself, to realize that God – and glitter - have found me again.
God’s love is like glitter.
It’s been an incredible blessing to watch our Advent puzzle come together this month and to discover how our St. Paul’s community encounters signs of God’s love in our everyday lives. Each piece widens our perspective and makes it easier to see how Emmanuel, God-with-us, breaks in among us again and again:
God’s love is like a compass.
God’s love is like a library card.
God’s love is like pet hair and chili and blankets, wire cutters and eyeglasses and so much more.
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