One whole month since we met here. It’s been a hard one . . .
A month ago I thought we were right on the cusp of breaking ground on our Finally Farmhouse.
A month later, I still think that.
Five Minute Friday – where a one-word prompt leads to five minutes of uninterrupted writing
START
I’m tired. The past 16 months of living in 300 square feet, driving muddy roads, cooking in a tiny kitchen, and having to go to a hotel just to enjoy a bath is getting old. You might say I’m just about over it.
And if that weren’t enough, so many other areas of our life are “crazy”. Job transition continues, community work is exciting and affirmed, but there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. Church leadership calls for intense spiritual focus—and that’s hard to do in the middle of the “crazies”.
Some days I just want to drop everything and work on loving my own family well.
And yet . . .
THIS place is exactly where God has me at this point in my life. THIS place — where it’s sometimes exhausting, sometimes exhilarating, often uncertain.
Yesterday I was asked (by someone who doesn’t know my penchant for tablescaping!) to imagine I was in charge of planning a huge banquet. Then imagine things happened to keep my well-planned event from coming together as envisioned — and the end result was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a quilt on the lawn. Would that be the end of the world?
Deep breath . . . No, it wouldn’t. In fact, I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and quilts and grassy lawns.
STOP
A peaceful spirit doesn’t reside in the same heart that’s trying to control.
And when you’re tired of fighting
Chained by your control
There’s freedom in surrender
Lay it down and let it go
Today’s a better day. I’m in a better place emotionally—and spiritually.
There’s freedom in surrender.
How about you? Like me, do you need to hit the reset button before starting your weekend? Are you robbing yourself of your peace?
Grab a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, spread a quilt on the lawn, and soak in the sunshine. Let God’s love cover you with peace. May yours be a restful weekend, my friend.
Let this song by Casting Crowns help you get started.
I’m joining Five Minute Friday… where you’ll find a variety of “tired” thoughts.
Sending love from me to you.♥♥♥
Thank you, Beverly. Hugs from here as well!
What a great practice – to imagine what would happen to a perfect plan. You’re so right – a sandwich picnic is often the best! Thanks for this encouragement! (Your FMF neighbor.)
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and quilts on the lawn….unfortunately, no sunshine is expected this week-end. Also, it’s the week-end for advancing those clocks an hour; not my favorite time; think I was born to be a hibernator, and I love standard time better with earlier dark in the evenings; time to gather it all in, relax, and enjoy. With extra light in the evenings, it seems there is often a manic effort to “get it all done” outside! Sending you hugs and bushels of wishes for calmer days where things will begin to mesh and create that feeling of accomplishment.
I know what you mean about the “get it all done” aspect of Daylight Savings Time, Nellie. I’m enjoying the sunshine today, though, even if it’s not forecast for the weekend. It sure has been chilly, huh?
Susan, praying for you! Thanks for the encouragement! we all need to hit that reset button on occasion! So easy to want to control everything and lose our peace! Thanks for this reminder!
Love,
Cindy
You are so good at making the best of any situation, Susan … and I have no doubt that you would make a wonderful celebration of serving peanut butter sandwiches to people you love. I want to share a story about one of my friends, Lucy Baxley (now deceased). She was having a large party for the entire Sunday School class, plus spouses or guests, in her spacious home and there were at least 100 people there. The house was beautifully decorated, chandeliers glowed in every room, the food was ready,and we were just about to line up and fill our plates. Then the lights went out … in every house in the neighborhood! So there we were—stumbling around in the dark in an unfamiliar setting and hoping for a miracle. But it stayed dark. Lucy asked us to stay put and started blindly rummaging around in drawers and cabinets, and within a few minutes she had found flashlights and enough candles to light every room. The party went on as planned, there was an extra sense of excitement, and I remember it as one of the most fun gatherings I’ve ever attended. Lucy went on to run for Governor of Alabama, and if I had still lived there at the time, she would have had my vote. Anyone who could keep her cool under such trying circumstances and still manage to laugh about it is amazing. And you, my dear, are surely in that category!
Lucy sounds like an amazing woman! What great life lessons I can learn from that one story alone. I’m so glad you shared it. Your words are kind, but I assure you, I can only aspire to be in her league!
It does sound like you’ve had a tiring time but there is definitely peace to be found when we can surrender and accept that we are where God wants us to be. I love the Casting Crowns song!