Busyness & Blessings

I sat on my couch this evening with the laptop in hand.  I looked at my husband and calmly told him, “I got nothin”. I was referring to an idea for a blog post. I am not sure if anyone else has had this issue?

I think some of the problem is the very busy time of year. That and all the odd stuff tossed in like the washing machine issue, the hotter than all get out weather and maybe the season we are in; all have something to do with it. It feels like everywhere I turn I have produce waiting to be tended to, laundry waiting for the new washer to arrive and stuff to be picked up and sorted.  This is not a bad problem….it is just busy and leaves no time to think.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes life feels just like the picture I am sharing with you. Sometimes it feels like I am missing key parts of the puzzle and sometimes it just feels like my chess pieces are sliding off the board and hanging by a thread. It seems there are so many details I just cannot think about them all; much less deal with them all.

These are the days that I just need to remind myself to take a deep breath, focus on one thing at a time, finish that one thing and then move on to the next pressing thing. One foot in front of the other, one task finished to completion and when the day is done be grateful for what was accomplished instead of beating myself up over what did not get done.

I sometimes think we find that last part hard to do.  At least I do. It is very easy to point out to ourselves what was left undone or not done quite right. It is probably time we cut ourselves some slack and rejoice in what we did get done.

Sometimes the fact that “we got nothin'” is okay. Sometimes when we seem too busy it is crucial to take the time to sit back, take that deep breath and just look around and appreciate the quiet.

“How many times have you noticed
that it’s the little quiet moments in the midst of life
that seem to give the rest
extra-special meaning?”
― Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers

As I walked out to lock my “girls” in the coop tonight I took the time to stop, listen, and look around. The sliver of the moon was shining brightly, the crickets and cicadas were singing their noisy summertime songs, the fireflies were twinkling over the field like a million little Christmas lights, the air, though still heavy with humidity, was beginning to cool, and you could smell the corn in the field.

That short moment of peace seemed to restore the calm to my soul and still my racing thoughts. It felt like God had prepared that short space of time just for me and was telling me to just enjoy that snapshot in time. I took Him at His word and did just that. It was wonderful.

I think tomorrow when the day winds up once again; I will be reminding myself of those noisy bugs and those twinkling fireflies. I will try to remember to:

“Be still
and know ……..“
Psalm 46:10a

May your week be blessed and may you find a quiet place to savor the day.

I need to give credit to my oldest son. He drew this picture as an Iowa State Fair entry last year.  I have no idea how he is able to draw this kind of stuff. It baffles me as I am happy when I can draw a tree that actually looks like a tree and not a stick.