When I was little it seemed the days would drag on forever if I was waiting for something special to happen. Christmas may have been only two weeks away but it felt like two months.
Now I'm all grown up and find the opposite happens. Two months feels like two weeks.
Time passes faster than I can keep up most days, and right now, with a house to pack up and applying myself to getting at least six weeks ahead with
my business and
The Stitchery Club, I feel as though I'm trying to catch the wind. And we know that's not about to happen.
Ah well, life really can only be fully lived one step, one moment, one experience, one conversation at a time. So rather than be anxious about everything I settle my mind by reminding myself of this.
Normal every day tasks are still in play and I find their rhythm helps during times of change, just the routine mechanics of doing what you know without much thought required is in itself very settling.
Each morning the washing basket greets me with a new load for the machine, lunch is packed for my husband, the table is set and breakfast served with fruit and coffee. These small rituals usher in stability.
The Monday morning review of my refrigerator to see what I need at the supermarket or fruit shop may not be exciting to you, but it's a task I thoroughly enjoy.
And as weary or tired as I may feel at the moment, strolling the aisles of our local supermarket and being mindful of what we need for a week of healthy meals, soothes me. Again, it's the comfortable ritual of doing things that come naturally which helps me balance the new with the old, the immediate with the non-essential, the stress of our packing/moving dates with a delight for the day at hand.
Restocking the fridge, writing a menu plan of what to make on certain days, whilst also 'shopping' from the pantry so we don't have much to move with us, offers great satisfaction to my homemaker heart, a sense of being in control even within a whirlwind of change.
Another thing I'm doing during this season of change is to keep meals simple and to stretch them out so there's less cooking time needed during these full weeks of September. The other day we had a roast dinner with lamb, veggies and lashings of gravy. The leftover roast lamb then became sandwich filling for a few day's lunches (with a generous spread of mustard or pickles) as well as the base of a family favourite, Shepherd's Pie, which we enjoyed over two nights.
The lamb bones would normally have become base for a broth but as we're emptying and not filling the freezer right now it was dear Bob-the-dog who made the most of them.
Still making time to bake for Blossom and her little girls brings more joy, as do the snatched hours here and there I spend with them.
Blossom and I may be eye to eye deep in conversation about motherhood, good books, simple meals, what's the best vacuum cleaner to buy or which Bible verse touched our hearts lately, but chubby little arms are never far away and often find themselves wrapped around this happy Nana's neck vying for my attention.
You can never underestimate the gift of a moment in time given to the people you love. I'm so grateful to have learned this lesson because I'm daily reaping the blessings which flow from it.
During my morning tea break I sit out on the back verandah and either catch up on some embroidery or do a little crochet whilst listening to an inspiring podcast. At the moment I'm working on a dishcloth in a lovely purpley/blue which will be bordered in either tangerine or lime.
Discovering there are ways to balance daily routine with stressful activities, and in doing so finding myself able to cope better than I have during similar times in the past, has been such a blessing. I hope you didn't mind me sharing about that?
I'm just so at peace in my heart, mind and thoughts, despite having a number of new stressors to face each day, that I wanted to share how it had come about.
Through prayer.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
Thank you for your prayers over our family as we've traversed this often rocky road to finding and then purchasing our first home. I believe it was your precious prayer covering which helped me look beyond the overwhelming onslaught of so many unexpected legalities during this house purchase and all the anxieties which came with it, to what matters most in our everyday life.
Time each morning in the Psalms has also helped my sense of peace to increase, guiding me to attend to the tasks which must be done day by day, the balancing of a comfortable homemaker rhythm with the unexpected things I had no previous experience of.
If your own life has become a series of new or unexpected events which are wearing you down and robbing your peace, is there a natural routine at home which you can follow to restore some gentle rhythm to your day and add balance to your emotions?
I'm sure as time goes by I'll learn more ways to manage living each day with peace even during seasons that may rock my boat in stormy seas, but for now, this epiphany is my lifeline - to continue being a homemaker who confidently goes about her daily tasks in peaceful rhythm, and learns new and sometimes overwhelming things as the need arises.
Well, I hear the kettle about to boil which means my beloved is making us an evening cuppa to have with a few pieces of the strawberry jam filled matrimony slice I baked yesterday, so I'd best be off here and go sup with him. It's those moments, you know...don't want to miss them.
bless you heaps,
