Missing Household Items, Motherhood, and Everyday Grace
In our family, there exists a dark and confounding mystery. Not the kind you call in a detective for (though I’ve considered it), but the kind that slowly drives a mother to the brink of sanity, armed with nothing but a barcode scanner and a faint hope in aisle 5 at Staples to replace missing household items.
Disappearing Scissors and the Mystery of the Junk Drawer
I’m talking about scissors.
Yes. Scissors.
They vanish. Poof. Like sock gnomes got bored and took up a new hobby.
Now, I’m not being dramatic (okay maybe a little), but I’ve purchased packs of scissors. Not just one or two. I mean family-sized, Costco-approved, “this should last us longer than an election cycle” packs. And yet—by the end of the month—I’m standing in the kitchen, staring into the junk drawer as if it might miraculously birth a pair of scissors from the lint and spare Lego pieces.
Last week my husband, in a moment of either brilliance or sarcasm (unclear which), suggested we chain the scissors to the kitchen counter.
“Like the pens at the bank teller,” he said, “because clearly, they’re going on walkabouts.”
You know what? He’s not wrong.
It’s Not Just Scissors: Pens, Pencils, and Notebooks Join the Great Escape
Pens do the same thing. Every August I march into Costco, full of confidence and back-to-school optimism, and buy a bulk pack of pens and pencils that could supply a small army or possibly a regional library system.
This is the year, I declare, like a pioneer mom with a fresh start.
This year we will not run out.
And every September, just three weeks in, I’m down to a chewed-up pencil nub and a pen with no cap that leaks ink like it’s trying to bleed out its sorrow. It’s not like my kids are writing novels or endlessly copying their spelling list—these pens are vanishing. I can only assume they’re hiding with the socks and scissors in the land of Missing Household Items, sipping tea and laughing at us.
Notebooks? Oh, don’t get me started.
Not only do they disappear, but they vanish with important information. Like the summary of last week’s science lesson that someone warranted they took “really good notes on.” Which means come test day, we’re all squinting at ash in the woodstove wondering if that was the notebook or just a failed art project.
When Everyday Chaos Reveals Something Deeper
But here’s the part that gets me:
Life feels like that sometimes, doesn’t it?
One day you’re knee-deep in diapers and Goldfish crumbs, and the next you’re handing over car keys and Googling how to fill out a CSFA form.
Years disappear, too.
Time Slips Away Like That Last Working Pen
They don’t announce their departure. They sneak out quietly while we’re making dinner or folding the 47th load of laundry that week. They vanish between birthdays and math lessons and late-night snuggles and early morning “Moooom, where are the scissors?”
And that’s where the grace comes in.
Finding God’s Grace in the Ordinary
Because for all the things we lose—scissors, pens, time—God never loses track of us. He’s not standing there scratching His head, wondering where we wandered off to or how the years slipped away. No. He’s in every one of those ordinary, messy, mysteriously scissor-less moments.
He sees us. He sustains us.
And He reminds us to cherish today—not because it’s perfect, but because it’s a gift.
Bible Verse for Reflection
"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
—Psalm 90:12
So go ahead, buy another pack of scissors. Buy two. But remember: even if they or other household items disappear (and they will), the love, laughter, and grace that fills this home? That’s what lasts.
(And if you find the pens, please call me.)
Can you relate? What mysterious items vanish in your house? Share in the comments—or tell me if you find my scissors!
He sees us. He sustains us.
And He reminds us to cherish today—not because it’s perfect, but because it’s a gift.
Much like the time when I felt like my home was a holy mess, I’ve learned that chaos has a sense of humor. Read all about that here:
♥️
Along with the pens and scissors, at our house it’s also tape! I can never find tape when I need it. I finally bought one and hid it in our room so I always know where to find some😝
That’s a good idea, maybe I should hide a pair of scissors in my room! Ssshhh, don’t tell anyone ;p