A Morning Walk In The Garden
Hello my Dear Friends! I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy and joyful during these extraordinary times!
My life is filled with a whole lot of reality, I bet yours is too. As much as we could wish for more orderly, organized, healthier, peaceful, or different lives, we pretty much have to live the lives we are given. At times that is wonderful, fun, and exciting, at other times it is mundane, stressful, or darn right hard and a lot of times it's a mixture of both at the same time. Some seasons of your life have you begging for normal life again. Been there. Every day is a gift, that's why it's called the present!
I say this because I am coming out of some hard times in my life, especially the last 6 weeks after having a hurt back. 6 weeks, ugh. Not fun for this Mama of 7! I feel like my soul is awakening again, and it feels good! I have to be honest, I really do not like having "down" time. How about you? (Actually the only "me" time I get is when I do something creative or start a project. So I rest by working...hmm, no wonder my back hurt!) I can handle a day or two of being laid up, by sickness or whatever. But by about the third day I start praying desperate prayers like George Bailey at the end of It's A Wonderful Life..."I want to live again. I want to live again...Please, God, let me live again!" Hopefully you're not as dramatic as me! :)
I know some people have to live in chronic pain, it's so tough. I feel like I've aged 10 years in the past 6 weeks. There are times when you have to be deliberate with what you're focusing on. It's easy to get down. You have to choose to have a thankful heart in the midst of hard times. You have to choose joy. But, let me tell you, when I did there were some treasures I found in the darkness!
For one thing, I had so much time with my little kids! I'm usually pretty busy keeping this family and home running, I don't sit a whole lot. But I've had tons of times snuggling them, reading with them, watching and listening to them play. How sweet it is! I always thought I spend a lot of time with them, but this time has given me a new perspective. While my back was hurt, the couch and the bed were too soft for me to lay on, so most of the last 6 weeks I've spent on our sun-room floor with them. And I have become pretty good at dodging aerial attacks from my 5 year old son!
Another thing I'm even more thankful for is my home and family. I am so grateful to have a place of refuge, a place to rest and recover. I've always wanted my home to be a place where others can come and find peace. A place where they can be loved on for a while and remember the greatness inside of them. I forgot that goes for me too. My family has been so good to me. My husband has carried so much, doing what he normally does and picking up so much of what I normally do too. He has been a strong shelter in this storm of my life. And we've learned to enjoy some of his "Dad's surprise" recipes. My older kids been my companions, helpers, the suffers of my amazing card shark skills (at least in my humble opinion), and my fellow voyagers through the reading of the Lord of the Rings series! I am blessed!
And finally I have been so grateful to have morning walks in the garden. Some days the only time I felt good was in the morning, and with our dry July I had to get out there and at least keep everything watered. I didn't want all the work we'd put in up to this point go to waste! It kept me active, but it also kept me joyful.
Have you ever had a time in your life where the night just felt long? That the darkness would never leave and you watched in desperation for the first streaks of dawn to appear? And even though the situation may not have changed, it just brought you hope. Come with me and let's have a walk together in the morning garden to refresh our souls...
I love this ligustrum bush. I looks so beautiful when the golden rays of sunshine hits its leaves. Do you feel the feel the cool morning air on your face and smell the sweet morning breeze? Isn't it wonderful to just be alive and breathing? Can't you just feel your cares melting away?
Do you feel the cool dew on the grass? Can you hear the birds singing? It feels like love is welcoming us into a new day. Today is a brand new beginning! We can still praise through the process. We have a Hope that walks with us...
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6:19
Thank you for walking with me this morning! A morning walk in the garden just fills up my senses. I hope you enjoyed my July garden! I can't wait to show you what August looked like!
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
