Finding time to write has proved difficult lately. Life has been busy. Too busy for my liking.
I am definitely NOT a Type A personality.
Schooling five is challenging enough, but add in basketball, soccer, clogging, ballet, piano, guitar, occupational therapy appointments, youth group, tutoring, and laundry and this mama has felt like I was going to blow.
The older I get, the more I need order. I find it hilarious (not really) that I have developed that need as my kids enter into what will most likely be their most active years! Order is hard to come by these days, but I am fighting for it nonetheless.
This week is turning out to be an unexpected respite. Over half of our usual activities have been cancelled because the local schools are on Fall Break. We suddenly have long, unhurried afternoons...at least for a while. I will enjoy this while it lasts.
October cool has settled into the mornings and the trees are beginning to reveal their glory. My dogs love to lie at my feet as I meet with Jesus before the children awaken and I just breathe in the calm. I love Autumn. This morning, when I stepped out of my front door, I noticed something unusual. A tree in the center of our front yard had a beautiful mist curling up the trunk. It was backlit by the morning sun and I realized the moisture from the early morning dew was rising from the sunlit side. It was absolutely beautiful. Mesmerizing. It only lasted about ten minutes and I was so thankful that I had gone out in time to see it. Parables and proverbs ran through my mind as I watched the curling tendrils of steam dance up the rough bark of the tree. Nature is so rich in lessons, so adept at pointing us to the Creator.
My children are happily outdoors as I type. I am sitting in my happy place, our porch swing. Our school day ended around 1:00 today and the sun is shining. My big girls went for a run, their new favorite sisterly pastime, and are now munching the last of the summer popsicles. The littles are out back with swords and backpacks and there is apparently a "bad guy" in the shrubs. Much bossing and commanding is going on back there and I laugh at how much they have become like twins. At only 3 months apart in age, they very nearly are.
My teenager is just a few houses down, basketball in hand, playing their version of NBA with his friends, I can hear them yelling all the way down here and it makes me laugh. They really have no idea how loud they are, my boy especially! I'm sure the neighbors love it. Ahem.
I marvel at these quiet moments when I have time to contemplate the miracle of my family. I am so grateful for this privilege of motherhood for it came at great price. On the hard days, and there have been many, I am tempted to doubt my abilities and to worry that I am scarring them for life. But then I catch one of them smiling at me or one moves in to steal the seat next to mine. A child yells "Look, Mom!" just wanting to see my eyes on them, smiling in approval. Another comes to me with a long, detailed story because it is important to them that I hear it. This bond is so solid, so real, so unexplainable apart from the glorious riches of God's grace.
And then I think back on the beauty of the mist rising from the tree this morning. An otherwise ordinary tree was warmed by the sun in a way that none of the others around it were and the result was beautiful. Had I been in a hurry I would have missed it. Just like these ordinary days. They are plain in many ways, nothing to "write home about" yet the warmth of God's love creates something magical. If we hurry we will miss it. I am determined not to do that. I am determined to slow and rest and let my eyes settle on the gifts God has lovingly tucked all around me.
I am definitely NOT a Type A personality.
Schooling five is challenging enough, but add in basketball, soccer, clogging, ballet, piano, guitar, occupational therapy appointments, youth group, tutoring, and laundry and this mama has felt like I was going to blow.
The older I get, the more I need order. I find it hilarious (not really) that I have developed that need as my kids enter into what will most likely be their most active years! Order is hard to come by these days, but I am fighting for it nonetheless.
This week is turning out to be an unexpected respite. Over half of our usual activities have been cancelled because the local schools are on Fall Break. We suddenly have long, unhurried afternoons...at least for a while. I will enjoy this while it lasts.
October cool has settled into the mornings and the trees are beginning to reveal their glory. My dogs love to lie at my feet as I meet with Jesus before the children awaken and I just breathe in the calm. I love Autumn. This morning, when I stepped out of my front door, I noticed something unusual. A tree in the center of our front yard had a beautiful mist curling up the trunk. It was backlit by the morning sun and I realized the moisture from the early morning dew was rising from the sunlit side. It was absolutely beautiful. Mesmerizing. It only lasted about ten minutes and I was so thankful that I had gone out in time to see it. Parables and proverbs ran through my mind as I watched the curling tendrils of steam dance up the rough bark of the tree. Nature is so rich in lessons, so adept at pointing us to the Creator.
My children are happily outdoors as I type. I am sitting in my happy place, our porch swing. Our school day ended around 1:00 today and the sun is shining. My big girls went for a run, their new favorite sisterly pastime, and are now munching the last of the summer popsicles. The littles are out back with swords and backpacks and there is apparently a "bad guy" in the shrubs. Much bossing and commanding is going on back there and I laugh at how much they have become like twins. At only 3 months apart in age, they very nearly are.
My teenager is just a few houses down, basketball in hand, playing their version of NBA with his friends, I can hear them yelling all the way down here and it makes me laugh. They really have no idea how loud they are, my boy especially! I'm sure the neighbors love it. Ahem.
I marvel at these quiet moments when I have time to contemplate the miracle of my family. I am so grateful for this privilege of motherhood for it came at great price. On the hard days, and there have been many, I am tempted to doubt my abilities and to worry that I am scarring them for life. But then I catch one of them smiling at me or one moves in to steal the seat next to mine. A child yells "Look, Mom!" just wanting to see my eyes on them, smiling in approval. Another comes to me with a long, detailed story because it is important to them that I hear it. This bond is so solid, so real, so unexplainable apart from the glorious riches of God's grace.
And then I think back on the beauty of the mist rising from the tree this morning. An otherwise ordinary tree was warmed by the sun in a way that none of the others around it were and the result was beautiful. Had I been in a hurry I would have missed it. Just like these ordinary days. They are plain in many ways, nothing to "write home about" yet the warmth of God's love creates something magical. If we hurry we will miss it. I am determined not to do that. I am determined to slow and rest and let my eyes settle on the gifts God has lovingly tucked all around me.
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