Moving Slowly
Life goes so fast. In the blink of an eye I was grown up and married and now there my babies go doing the same thing. Day to day can be so mundane and yet like a treadmill of unending tasks and faces and repeats. Commitments and activities and meetings, oh my. I'm learning that I can only do so much and not to begrudge the "lazy days". I have limits and that's ok.
I love Januarys. They are new and shiny and full of all kinds of hope. Even when doors slam in your face, and the road turns into a dead end, and the bridge is out, there is still hope. The first of the year gives us the opportunity to have an excuse to do new stuff, to try things a new way, to give it a chance. At our house we always begin the new year with a fast, a hard reset after the frivolities of the Christmas season. Vegetarian eating, no television, no social media, no video games for the kiddos. Its amazing how much time I have when I'm not scrolling through Facebook, or editing my photos for Instagram, or binging the newest series on Netflix. There's still so much on my plate, but now I have time to really look at it, and the noise is toned down. God's voice comes through so much clearer.
Are we still dealing with struggles? Like walking through mud in flip flops.
The difference here is that instead of numbing the pain with distractions, I'm forced to face it head on. Instead of grabbing a bag of doritos, or clicking on the tv set, or diving into the lives of others on FB. Life doesn't have to be this way. Disappointments and setbacks come. Anxiety and worry threaten to engulf me. Chores and work deadlines and extracurriculars pull at my coatsleeves. But in the chaos, when I choose to stop and slow down and start my day with the One who knows exactly what is in store for me each moment before it even happens, I'm so much better prepared than when I just jump our into the fray.
Stop, Drop, Pray.
I love Januarys. They are new and shiny and full of all kinds of hope. Even when doors slam in your face, and the road turns into a dead end, and the bridge is out, there is still hope. The first of the year gives us the opportunity to have an excuse to do new stuff, to try things a new way, to give it a chance. At our house we always begin the new year with a fast, a hard reset after the frivolities of the Christmas season. Vegetarian eating, no television, no social media, no video games for the kiddos. Its amazing how much time I have when I'm not scrolling through Facebook, or editing my photos for Instagram, or binging the newest series on Netflix. There's still so much on my plate, but now I have time to really look at it, and the noise is toned down. God's voice comes through so much clearer.
Are we still dealing with struggles? Like walking through mud in flip flops.
The difference here is that instead of numbing the pain with distractions, I'm forced to face it head on. Instead of grabbing a bag of doritos, or clicking on the tv set, or diving into the lives of others on FB. Life doesn't have to be this way. Disappointments and setbacks come. Anxiety and worry threaten to engulf me. Chores and work deadlines and extracurriculars pull at my coatsleeves. But in the chaos, when I choose to stop and slow down and start my day with the One who knows exactly what is in store for me each moment before it even happens, I'm so much better prepared than when I just jump our into the fray.
Stop, Drop, Pray.
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