As schedules shift, so must our souls. And as my soul takes a deep breath in, I remember how it could be like this all the time if I wanted it to be. Not the schedule part, but the centered part. There is a strong stillness deep within me, the place where God lives. He is not pulled in ten thousand directions and in him, neither am I.It could be like this all the time if I wanted it to be. Now we could argue all day about what we have to do and what we want to do. But honestly, if we were really true with ourselves, we could have the life we want.
We could have the time to be with our kids. We could make that creative dream come true. We could live a simpler, slower paced life. We could spend time doing things we love and we could spend time with our family.
But all those things come at a cost. You have to say no to a whole lot to make it happen. But aren't our dreams and our true priorities worth it?
I think mine are and that is why I have learned the art of saying "no". To be completely honest, I don't do a lot. And because of it I am able to do so much more.
ah, the joys of nothing. Don't I wish I can just be for a while :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ideas-- thanks for the reminders.
ReplyDeleteI love this post!!! I am trying to do this right now. I'm taking life slower, focusing on what I love and not minding that I'm not as straight out as I use to be. I'm thinking of my family and spending time with them. As my husband readys to deploy this summer, I am finding the things that are importand and should be important all the time. Not just crunch time!! thanks for reminding us of simpler and slower approaches to life!!
ReplyDeleteOh how hard it is to say, 'No'. Not that hard to say to kids all-day-long but so hard to say to temptations. Temptation to sit a watch t.v. or sit at the computer checking this and that page when there are chores to do and kids to be with and life to live. And, for me, I fight the devil and his schemes of him saying, 'You're too busy.' and 'You're a bad mommy and wife and friend, etc. if you say no.', 'You don't have time to sit and be still with God.' But sit and be still with God and He will provide. Provide the time, the patience, the strength and will to get it done. He provides just what we need!
ReplyDeleteSaying no can be so hard. I sometimes feel that my 'no' will be interpreted as a reflection of how I feel about the person who asked me to do something and so it scares me into saying 'yes' so that I don't hurt anyone's feelings. I'm working on it though - trying to offer a genuine explanation of why I'm saying no helps. It takes a while for most people to realize that saying no isn't selfish, it's necessary.
ReplyDelete