Ordinary Wonders

O

rdinary wonders 

You hold this life 

you’ve been given 

the same way

your small hands held 

every freshly-made 

still-warm tortilla–

cradled reverently, reveling 

in ordinary wonders– 

the way your mother

cinched her apron 

‘round her waist 

at the end of the day,  

yielding calloused hands 

to the ministry of common 

grace–clearing counters, 

sifting flour, kneading dough 

until, by ordinary miracle, 

the disparate parts would 

hold and the resting 

would begin, softening 

the dough to yield 

to the pressure 

of the rolling pin, shaping 

every round, and with 

a little heat, turning 

flour, oil, leaven, into 

something good to eat. 

You keep the liturgy 

of hours the way 

your mother taught you to–

steady in your unseen work, 

heart strengthened 

by the borrowed grace 

of another mother’s 

prayer from long ago, 

steadfast in the hope 

that even weathered 

hands can still make 

music, coaxing keys 

to sing preludes 

of arpeggiated chords, 

threading light into 

a winter’s night, bearing 

our bright sadnesses 

until the tears we’ve 

sown ripen into 

songs of joy.

The featured image, “Chandelier 1,” is courtesy of Lancia E.Smith and is used with her glad permission for Cultivating.

Bethany Colas

Bethany Colas is a poet, military spouse, and mom of three who writes about God’s grace in the ordinary wonders of daily life and the tender sorrows and joys of parenthood. In addition to writing poems for services at her church and participating in Pass the Piece collaborations with other artists, her poems have been published in Ekstasis Magazine. 

She currently resides in the suburbs of Connecticut with her family and their yellow Labrador, Lemon. When she’s not reading mystery novels from the Golden Age era or writing poetry in the margins of her days, she can be found assisting her eldest daughter with last-minute baking projects, learning soccer skills from her youngest son, patiently listening to her middle daughter campaign for another dog, and drinking vats of tea to sustain her through it all. 

You can find more of her writing at her website.

bethanycolas.wixsite.com/notetoself