In the last year or so, some wonderful new roles have surfaced in my life in addition to being a wife, mother, and home educator. I’ve unexpectedly acquired some new hats: Entrepreneur, Writer, Artist, Speaker. I’ve become a work-at-home mom whose commitment to my family has been graciously paired with my passion for creating art and inspiring the art of living. I'm grateful to do what I love.
I couldn’t have embraced these additional roles ten years ago, and I don’t think I would’ve managed my priorities well at that time. I’ve grown up quite a bit in the things that I value most, and so these new unexpected opportunities have fallen upon a foundation that is not dependent on career or success, but on knowing who I am in the ways that matter most. The timing has been good, and I couldn’t be more sure of God’s blessing in it all.
But with new hats to wear and roles to learn, there is always a pull towards hustling, busyness, chaos, and reacting to the tyranny of the urgent. The temptation is to juggle it all in hopes of living well, but being spread so thin that you aren’t hardly living at all. For me, the struggle is often real, and I'm constantly seeking to steward my time well: being purposeful in evaluating priorities, counting the cost, and ultimately discerning when to give it my all, and when to let my all take a break.
Life is not a sprint to the finish line. If it were so, there would be no lively flowers that peek up between the cracks in a sidewalk, the intoxicating fragrance of freshly baked bread, or the satisfaction of a good conversation with a true friend. All of those delights to our senses are available and waiting, but none of those come without purposeful pause and a deliberate choice to rest.
Lately, I’ve been reinstating the afternoon tea, simply because sometimes I just need to slow down, sip and enjoy a moment to be quiet, a moment to give thanks…a moment to be alone. Pepperidge Farm® Milano® cookies tip their hat to us ladies who juggle many of our own, and make it easy for us to savor some sweetness.
Taking a few moments to pause has become such a refreshing routine in the midst of kids, school, business, and home. Even when the boys are home and nearby, they know what it means when Mama has a warm cup of coffee or tea in hand: they’ve learned that I, too, need time to recharge. And most often, it takes but a few moments for me to enjoy a pause in my day…and I’m back to sharing all the sweetest, noisiest, busiest of life’s journey with my crew.
How do you pause and enjoy the day? Tell me in the comments and you will be entered to win a $100 VISA Gift Card!
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