Simple Gift

Going away from home always makes me think. Let me backtrack. I think a great amount anyway but leaving somehow makes me think more.  I'm grateful for such a generous family to have flown me literally across the country on their dime. Makes for a very humbling experience.

I loved getting away and seeing the simplicity of life. Even before I left, I had a brief chat with a friend about the little things. The small things. Those things that so many of us take for granted regularly.  The buzzing hummingbirds, the smell of laundry, the lavender scented candles ... ahhh. What a breath of fresh air to really soak in the important things.

I challenged myself to get closer to those seemingly insignificant things in life and I'm slowly transforming into my reality. No one else can be in my shoes nor can they enjoy or bask in my little moments - only I can. And the same goes for each of us.  I've come to grasp that my family is the most important thing to me - disclaimer, God will always be at the top of my priority. (That was for any naysayers that dare stop by!) Immediately after God comes my family. If we don't spend the time and build our families, we have nothing. We can work endlessly and labor, but if our families aren't strong, we are nothing. The families are what makes up God's church, and we must be strong.

I've been overcome with a sense of gratitude for my life. The fact that I get to do laundry - that makes me happy. I have someone's laundry to do! I have someone that depends upon me and my judgement in many ways. To me, that is a gift and calling like no other. I'd rather cook dinner for my dear husband than go to a fine restaurant. Why? Firstly, because I know where my hands have been! haha (think about it) And secondly, because I've been given this moment, this life, this marriage for only such a sweet time as this.  It will all fade away and be filled with regret unless we can somehow harness that sweet scent of joy ... it really is all around us.

Accepting that reality is not always the popular choice. It is sometimes scoffed at and made for fun; maybe even has caused reason for debate. That is also a simplicity that we must accept. Choice. We should not be ashamed of who we are nor of what we stand for even when it is seemingly silly to those that don't yet grasp the concept.  Some things just don't really matter. I am soaking up the simple things in life. I don't want one, tiny second to get past me again. I want to be present for this gift of life.