Betty Confetti by Maghon Taylor

This is the book I wish I could have read when I was a little girl. Growing up, I strived for perfection in every area of my life.  At home, it felt like an A minus might as well have been a failing grade. When I tried out for cheerleading or soccer, I didn’t just want to make the team at school — it wasn’t good enough for me unless I was also the captain.  I wanted to be the dancer in the center of the stage, smiling brightly and never missing a beat.  Even as an adult, I used to get so caught up chasing Pinterest perfection, that I lost the joy in the art of creating just for fun.  

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Chasing perfection is an exhausting way to live, and not at all what God needs or expects from us as his children.  Chasing perfection never got me very far, but chasing joy --- now, that’s totally been worth my time!  I have finally learned to loosen my grip of control enough to enjoy every step of the journey.


In this sweet story, Betty Confetti LOVES to create, but more often than not, her grand visions don’t turn out quite the way she dreamed they would.  She uses too much glue, her colors run together, but her spirit is renewed when she decides that her mistakes don’t define her.  In fact, sometimes a mistake can be a happy accident that turns out even better than you originally planned.  


Young readers watch Betty Confetti come into her own as an artist when she finally learns to embrace her mistakes and turn them into something even more beautiful.  She dusts herself off, gives herself grace and tries again.  Her tenacity encourages her friends (and even her teacher) that you can turn your mistakes into confetti.  Just because something doesn’t go the way we planned in life, that doesn’t mean all hope is lost.  Especially when we find our hope in the Lord. 


Every day in my job as a calligrapher I make mistakes.  I either spell a word wrong, or I scribble an ugly letter like Betty did.  Very early on, I decided not to get down on myself about my mistakes, because making a mess meant I was trying.  One day, after a particularly difficult job, I was running my scrap paper through my office shredder and out came the most beautiful confetti you’ve ever seen!  I felt like a kid again and I couldn’t help but smile.  That’s what God had been leading me towards all along.  I learned to find joy in the mess. 


Our God Loves us, mistakes and all.  We don’t have to be PERFECT to earn his love or his affection.  He loves watching us grow and learn and take leaps of faith along our path when we know he is guiding our every step.  We need to have grace with ourselves, just like Jesus does. 


We will all go through challenges in life, but it’s what we choose to learn from them that will really help us grow.  If we will let go and let God, He’s known for making broken things beautiful in His time. We are never too young, or too old to make some confetti! 


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