Resting

Today I noticed things. I spent hours in quiet. Waiting in waiting rooms, stretching my hammie as perscribed, reading while waiting in carpool lines, and my soul has caught up to the rest of me.

By the entrance of the children's library

A happy upgrade from the large paper towel at a certain appointment

Stretching, stretching, stretching, rolling, rolling, rolling..."wait training"

I noticed that the flags were at half-mast and google searched to find out why. I prayed in gratitude for those who volunteer and for the families of those who are lost.

I read and gained perspective that I had lost in my own fatigue.

I remembered that my children are whiny and grouchy for a reason, and took time to listen to wails of frustration over fractions for one, and pre-algebraic expressions for another. I gave a reluctant reader a "zombie finger" (that I had saved from a Halloween cupcake in October) to mark the progress of each tedious word of a long assignment. I slid a chocolate under the door of a distraught boy and asked if I might come in and talk a while. He took the bait. We prayed that all that we say and do would honor God- sports, homework, how we speak to one another.

 

I gave my husband a kiss as he came in the door, grabbed a few bites of dinner, and headed back out to the ball field with our son. I prayed for many moments, since hours and days are not to be found. I prayed for young friends whose marriage is struggling and hoped they would remember to choose "I do" each day.

Those hours in quiet calmed me, centered me. I was able to listen better and give more and pray more when my own soul had some "white space" to breathe. I chose not to answer the plea for an emergency sub, understanding that fixing one's emergency would send my six into a tailspin and that I needed to choose them first. There will be other days when I can help others...like tomorrow when the sixth grade Sunday School girls come over for a weekend-long sleepover.

 

Today's reading:

Couple Time: Marriage is not a "done deal" at the altar, followed by happily ever after. It's a continuous, daily "I do." While it may seem impossible to spend quality time alone with your spouse, it can be done. It just takes a little planning and creativity. The following ideas can get you started:

todayschristianwoman.com

http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2013/march/couple-time.html?start=3