This blog has felt a bit quiet in terms of content lately, which is why I signed up for the five-day #hopewriterlife challenge. Ironically, the first word prompt is 'quiet'.
Hmmm.
It's never really quiet here. Our calendars are full and usually our guest rooms too, so I'm always looking for blank space somewhere. After a whirlwind August, a whirlwind summer actually, we were forced into a period of rest and stillness by hubs aching back and our dog's emergency belly surgery.
I don't believe God sent hubs back out of whack or caused the dog to eat that mysterious bit of foam he attempted unsuccessfully to digest, but I do think He uses these types of things to slow us down, to remind us rest is good for the body and soul, and that we need times of quiet to process all the noise of this world.
Sometimes it feels like there's no escaping the noise, but there's certainly no escaping it when you never remove yourself from it. I have a lot of thoughts, hubs might say too many-ha! and writing has always been a way for me to focus all those thoughts into something that makes sense.
There are days where not a lot happens here. Most days I'd venture to say, and I imagine most of you would say the same. Life is much more a series of small moments rather than big events, less earth shattering happenings, more laundry and to-do lists. While writing about the everyday ordinary may seem frivolous given the times in which we live, ordinary is nearly always where I land.
When I write I like to imagine my grandchildren reading my words decades down the road. What do I want them to know about me? What do my words say about the person their grandmother was in the middle of an all CAPS-exclamation point world?
I want them to know my hand was always reaching for the volume, turning it down as I floated into the bright blue beauty of a September day. That I saw mountains meeting clouds and felt small as I remembered where my help comes from.
Well said! Yes to those ordinary days. My word for this year is Quiet. Little did I know in January that my life was about to become very quiet. But quiet has been good for me to process grief and aloneness. Life is not quite as quiet as it was and that is also good. God is good. xo
ReplyDeleteThis was a good read and I agree with you about what you said about God. I too was hoping that my grandchildren someday would get to know me better from reading my blog. Heck my own kids don't read it. I'm afraid it's just going to go with me. I do enjoy the quiet days.
ReplyDeleteI adore your writing! And this was just what I needed this morning. One of my fave thoughts is: The peaceful sound of nothing helps my soul cradle my ol’ body! We need quiet every now and then to help us appreciate the crazy!!
ReplyDeleteYour daughters and grands will cherish your writing as the days go on…seriously. And will probably refer to all of it when needing your guidance in their lives!