You Taught Me Beauty Even When We Were Drowning in Disaster: A Letter of Light for My Mom

Okay, so I asked God for a sign this week… and I didn’t make it easy on Him. I had just seen this video about asking for a sign, about how God answers, about how He delights in it… and something in me just… recognized that. Like, oh. I’ve felt that before. Lindsey, it was your video. And the second I heard it, I remembered something. I remembered a time, years ago, back in that early, foggy, pinkless season of motherhood, when I had asked for a sign too. I had prayed, really specifically… really honestly… “God, just show me I’m okay. Show me I’m on the right path.” And I asked for a blue butterfly. I didn’t see it right away. I waited. I wondered if I had imagined the whole idea in the first place. And then, not long after, life moved us somewhere new. A new place, new energy… the kind of move that feels exciting and terrifying all at once. They handed us the keys… and right there on them… was a blue butterfly. And I remember feeling that same quiet recognition. Like… okay. And then, a couple months after that, with prayers inside us building for a second child, we went to a park. One of those ordinary days that turns into something you don’t forget. And there were butterflies everywhere. Hundreds of them. Yellow, filling the air, lifting all at once like something out of a dream. And right in the middle of it… one blue butterfly. I just stood there, overwhelmed, because I knew. I knew I had been heard. Nearly one year to the day later, our second child was born. And then… life kept moving. Time passed. Things got busy. Full. Loud. Beautiful… but a little hazy, too. Somewhere along the way, I think I stopped asking like that. Fast forward. I’m sitting with my kids on New Year’s Eve, going into 2025, talking about goals and dreams. The kind of things you say out loud but don’t always fully claim. “I’ve always wanted to write.” And my daughter, so sure, so certain, just looked at me and said, “Then make it your New Year’s resolution.” And something about the way she said it… she didn’t question it. she didn’t overthink it. She just… believed it was possible. So I did. I started building something I’ve carried in pieces since I was in high school. Old notebooks, scattered thoughts, songs, memories… things I’ve never really known how to explain out loud. And for the first time, it felt like someone actually got it. So I got to work. Writing with a baby asleep on my chest… voice notes, typed drafts, music playing in the background… piecing together old memories with new ones. And I love it. I really do. But if I’m being honest… I started to wonder. Is this meaningful? Is this worth the time? Is this something good… or just something I want? And more than anything… I wanted to know if it was something God saw as good. Not just something that looked meaningful… but something that was. So I sat down, quietly, and I prayed. And I said, “God, if this is something I’m supposed to keep building… if I’m on the right path… if this is your will for me… please just show me. Give me a sign.” And I paused… because I knew I couldn’t ask for something easy. I had asked for butterflies before and blue jays have been unusually common in our backyard lately. I needed something specific. Something I wouldn’t just brush off. I looked over… and saw this little pink and white poodle sitting on my daughter’s shelf. And I laughed a little and said, “Okay God… show me a poodle.” almost sarcastically thinking… well, this one’s going to take a little more effort. But of course… Not even 48 hours later, we ran into Burlington. We were just there to grab socks and shoes for my toddler, her sandals were bothering her. Quick in, quick out. We ended up wandering a little. We’re headed to checkout… and my husband steps down an aisle, picks something up, and goes, “Okay, I know this is ridiculous… but we need this for the office.” And he had no idea. Nothing about my prayer. Nothing about the poodle. I’m barely paying attention yet. And then he turns it around. It’s a painting. Of a poodle. Not just a poodle… a poodle in a full business suit… sitting at a desk… reading a newspaper. I just… stopped. A business professional poodle, for the office we’re building together, a space where I can write. Like everything in me went quiet for a second. Because of all the things in the world I could have asked for… of all the ways that prayer could have been answered… it was that. I remember thinking, smiling, fighting back tears of joy… of course it is. Because I had asked for something specific. And apparently… He has a sense of humor. Also, just to make sure I didn’t miss it… because let’s be real, God definitely knows how to show out… the very next place we went… was Petco. And there was this real poodle. Then again. And again. Every aisle I turned… I kept running into it. And that feeling came back. The same one from before. Quiet. Certain. seen. beloved. Lindsey… Thank you so much, you reminded me to ask. You reminded me that God doesn’t just hear us… He answers. Not always in big, overwhelming ways… but in ways we’ll recognize. In ways that feel personal. Specific. Sometimes even funny… like they were meant just for us. And Lindsey… I just want you to know how much I appreciate all of what you’re doing. Your energy, your humor, the way you show up so fully as yourself… it matters more than you probably realize. You make people laugh, you make motherhood feel seen, and you bring light into spaces that can feel heavy sometimes. But there is also so much more than that… God really radiates through you. In the way you speak, in the way you encourage, in the way you remind people to keep going and to keep believing. It’s powerful. And it’s beautiful to witness. What you’ve created with “get your pink back”… that message, that reminder… it’s reaching people. It’s lifting people. It’s giving something back to women who feel like they’ve poured everything out. And that matters. It really does. I’m so grateful I came across your video when I did. And I’m really looking forward to everything you create next… especially your writing. You’re doing something good here. Keep going. Please never stop casting your light into the world… it really does break through the darkness.

With a Little Love and Some Tenderness: A Letter of Light for Becky Greer With a little love and some tenderness. That’s what it takes, isn’t it? Not just to raise children, but to shape them. To steady them. To leave something behind that lasts longer than the moment itself. We talk a lot about our mothers when we talk about who we become. And rightfully so. But there are other women, too. The ones who stand beside them. The ones who show up in the background, in the in-between, in the everyday moments that don’t seem big at the time. The ones who fill in the gaps, step into ordinary days, and leave fingerprints all over a childhood without ever needing credit for it. You were one of those women for me. I remember you as light. Summer. Baseball somewhere in the distance. Music playing with the windows down. That kind of 90s joy that felt easy and full and alive. You had the most beautiful smile, the kind that made everything feel a little more fun, a little more possible. You were creative in ways that stuck. I still think about the way you wrapped birthday presents in newspaper comics, like even the outside of the gift deserved to be part of the magic. But what stays with me most is the way you cared. I had long, thick hair, and brushing it was always a battle. Tears, frustration, the whole thing. And I can still see you sitting down with my mom, calm and sure, saying, “Liz, you’re doing it wrong,” then showing her how to start at the bottom and work her way up. Taking something overwhelming and turning it into something gentle. I think about you almost every time I brush my daughter’s hair. That small moment didn’t stay small. It kept going. From you, to my mom, to me, and now to her. That’s how you helped shape me. Not in some loud, obvious way. But in the quiet kind of way that actually lasts. I have this vivid memory I can almost still see so clearly. Like a safe place in my mind I often wander… My mom was in the hospital. It was a hard season. My brother and I stayed with different families, trying to keep some sense of normal. But I remember begging to stay at your house. I just wanted to be there. With you. With my brother. In that space that felt safe and fun and full of life. And they let me! I remember Mickey Mouse pancakes in the morning. I remember you brushing my hair, gentle and patient. I remember sitting in the living room watching the Ewok movie, just feeling… okay. Taken care of. Like everything was going to be alright, safe and steady in a way that settled deep emotionally and stayed with me. That kind of tenderness doesn’t fade. It follows you. It shows up later when you’re making pancakes for your own kids, when you’re brushing their hair, when you’re trying to create that same feeling of comfort and steadiness for them. You gave that kind of care without making it a big thing. You just lived it. Every Christmas, like clockwork. That peanut butter fudge that didn’t stand a chance in our house. My dad and I would practically race to it, hover over it like it was gold, knowing it wouldn’t last more than a day or two. It was that good. And now, not every year but close to it, I make it too. Somewhere along the way, it became part of my rhythm. Something I carry forward without even thinking about why. Something that reminds me of you and that time and that feeling. The same way I make Mickey Mouse pancakes for my kids from time to time. The same way I brush my daughter’s hair. The feeling of pure joy and nostalgia I get when I wrap my kids birthday presents. The way… because of you our family ended up with weenie dogs. Our very first one traced back to your house! It’s funny how something like that can become a such a huge part of your life, like a thread that keeps weaving through the years. How often even the smallest things are the ones that last the longest. And somewhere in the middle of all that, you took us to our first real concert. Dishwalla, The Refreshments, and Chalk Farm. I didn’t know it then, but that night unlocked something in me. A love for music that would go on to shape who I was becoming. A rhythm I’ve been following ever since. You were an incredible boy mom. Strong, fun, creative, full of life. But you were also something more than that. You were part of the village that helped raise us. Part of the constellation of women who shaped the way I see the world, the way I care for my own children, the way I move through memory and meaning now. I don’t know if people always realize the impact they have when they’re just being themselves. But I do. And I carry it with me. You left behind patterns. Ways of loving. Ways of showing up. Ways of making a child feel seen, safe, and at home. I don’t think those things ever really disappear. They just keep moving forward, showing up in new places, in new hands, in new generations. So thank you. For the love you gave so easily. For the tenderness you carried into ordinary moments and made them matter. For the joy, the creativity, the steadiness, and the care. With a little love and some tenderness. That’s what you gave. It never left. It’s still moving. It just keeps spiraling outward, finding its way into the lives it touches next.