Time....

This is a good day. I am saying this because it is ordinary but in a really good way. The past few weeks have been packed with meetings, family visits, friends, and parties all of which were enjoyable and exciting! However I realize how addicted I am to plans and events and basically any event I can pencil into my calendar. I look at those things I have written down and I feel important in a "Hey I have plans, I'm a big deal, I DO stuff" kind of way. I mean who wants to admit that most days we wake up to the same daily grind of work or chores or parenting? I want my life to be interesting and exciting and-shall I say it-BUSY!!! I know I have written about busyness before but I need to talk about it a little more. Busyness, I am realizing, robs me of time to able to find joy and peace in small things. I don't have time to stop and smell the proverbial roses, or even look at them and they are in my backyard even! In our culture today we look at having time as something to fill up and use. Hello...could this be part of our consumer hungry life-style? Yikes! We talk about recycling, being environmentally friendly, saving the earth....but how often do we stop to enjoy this earth we live in?

So today I thought about washing endless piles of laundry and watching shows on Hulu, but the day was beautiful and calling out to me. I loaded up the boys in the cumbersome double stroller and went for a walk. Wow, gorgeous morning, amazing, a gift! The air was cool and crisp and I could see the leaves are starting to change color. Later we came home refreshed and energized (well the boys were more falling apart because they needed naps but I was feeling great).Yet, I was no longer in that place of anxiety over what to "do" today or what I needed to get "done." Instead I felt as if I had a choice in how I would spend this day, I was reminded that I can't ever get it back.

  I took time today to bake for MOPS instead of buying something pre-made. I listened to an incredible Podcast featuring Chuck Colson discussing politics and faith and how they do and do not relate to each other. I stopped to read from my Bible and pray think about life and what matters most. I was reminded that God cares how we live and act and respond to others. I don't always get this rare gift of time to sit and listen or read and ponder things. This time I had today was a gift....one I often bypass with plans and busy-making.

It is so so so hard to stop sometimes. To say for an hour I am forgetting chores or that phone call I need to make or whatever...and I am going to stop and sit and breathe. I am going to think about something meaningful and challenging. I am going to read a chapter or listen to a song that moves me. These are the things that feed our souls and grow our hearts. We need time so that our hearts and minds can be filled up and renewed so that we are able to give to the many needs and demands in our lives.

Wow. My cinnamon coffee cake is burning...looks like time is up for now...but I look forward to finding it again tomorrow, even for five minutes. I'll take what I can get!