There are days I wish I could just sit out under the stars and watch the night sky bloom. And yet other times my heart becomes so antsy that I can't sit quietly enough to really enjoy the beauty of all there is to see. My head is so full of things that need to be done, things that got done but not quite well enough, things that could be done, things I don't want to get done and the list can go on and on and on. I miss the days when my heart was quieter. When my spirit was still and able to just sit quietly in awe of God's creation.
My days are different now than just a few years ago. I can remember a time when as a single woman I did laundry just once a week. And I didn't have to do it again because there wasn't that much to wash. It seems like a far away dream. I have to do up to 10 loads of laundry in one day to get it all done if I want to do laundry only once a week. (Summer time it is a bit easier, the clothes are smaller and I can fit more into the wash so there are few loads!) That number does not include linens. It comes with being in a big family.
It is really interesting to me how much laundry seems to define me now. I am doing laundry all the time, and that is a time when I can think. I am usually listening to the radio when I fold laundry. There are several wonderful talk/ teaching shows that on mid-morning. I can listen to the teaching and fold laundry. Even this activity looks different than it used to, I once could sit quietly an listen to all the radio programs I could want and I could even hear every word spoken, if I was paying attention.
Now I might hear 35% of the program in the midst of constant interruptions, such as "Mommy, Me Poopy!". "Mommy, Izzy is eating.....(fill in anything right here)" "Mommy But She took my___________"
With me interjecting multiple times, "____________ Finish your chores, we still have school to do" "____________Have you done___________ yet"
So I find myself back at the longing for quiet reflection. When I had the time for quiet I enjoyed it, and I even thrived on solitude....for a time, I always had my limit. The loneliness would always set in eventually. Now I rarely get time to be alone, being married to a very relational man requires I am almost always with someone. I can see it is changing me. I would rather be with people now than I ever used to be. I still need time to think, time to reflect, time to just sit in awe of God and who he is, and it is hard to find that time. I need that time to quiet my busy heart that seems to constantly be fluttering about in the chaos that is my lovely home. This is my puzzle. To find a balance in the chaos, to care for and relate to my family while at the same time tending to my relationship with our amazing Creator.
How do you make time for quieting your heart before the Lord? Do you take time to just be still and quiet before the Lord? How do you make it work in the chaos of your day?
My days are different now than just a few years ago. I can remember a time when as a single woman I did laundry just once a week. And I didn't have to do it again because there wasn't that much to wash. It seems like a far away dream. I have to do up to 10 loads of laundry in one day to get it all done if I want to do laundry only once a week. (Summer time it is a bit easier, the clothes are smaller and I can fit more into the wash so there are few loads!) That number does not include linens. It comes with being in a big family.
It is really interesting to me how much laundry seems to define me now. I am doing laundry all the time, and that is a time when I can think. I am usually listening to the radio when I fold laundry. There are several wonderful talk/ teaching shows that on mid-morning. I can listen to the teaching and fold laundry. Even this activity looks different than it used to, I once could sit quietly an listen to all the radio programs I could want and I could even hear every word spoken, if I was paying attention.
Now I might hear 35% of the program in the midst of constant interruptions, such as "Mommy, Me Poopy!". "Mommy, Izzy is eating.....(fill in anything right here)" "Mommy But She took my___________"
With me interjecting multiple times, "____________ Finish your chores, we still have school to do" "____________Have you done___________ yet"
So I find myself back at the longing for quiet reflection. When I had the time for quiet I enjoyed it, and I even thrived on solitude....for a time, I always had my limit. The loneliness would always set in eventually. Now I rarely get time to be alone, being married to a very relational man requires I am almost always with someone. I can see it is changing me. I would rather be with people now than I ever used to be. I still need time to think, time to reflect, time to just sit in awe of God and who he is, and it is hard to find that time. I need that time to quiet my busy heart that seems to constantly be fluttering about in the chaos that is my lovely home. This is my puzzle. To find a balance in the chaos, to care for and relate to my family while at the same time tending to my relationship with our amazing Creator.
How do you make time for quieting your heart before the Lord? Do you take time to just be still and quiet before the Lord? How do you make it work in the chaos of your day?