Releasing to embrace.
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Today is the first day of the Lenten season. Admittedly, I've never really observed Lent. But this year, I felt compelled to. Adding another baby to the family has made our lives wonderfully full. And with that fullness there is no longer room for everything that was there before.
The above challenge from my Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) lecture two weeks ago has totally stuck with me...release anything in our lives that prevents us from following Him wholeheartedly. What should I be releasing? Following Christ right now means serving my family - my husband and two children - and serving them wholeheartedly, not distractedly. As I prayed over this, I realized something specific I need to change. While I love Instagram as a tool to embrace life, I've been scrolling through my Instagram and Facebook feeds mindlessly lately, using them as an escape or distraction. It's time to take a step back, and this is the perfect time. So I'll be off Instagram and Facebook until Easter. I might even quit Facebook altogether when this is over as I've been considering it for awhile.
At any rate, I'm excited about what this frees up for me. I plan to blog here a bit more - I've really missed it. This time is about sitting down at my computer intentionally to write rather than checking social media mindlessly all throughout the day. It's a choice that helps me embrace my life and creativity rather than taking away from it.
Our lives right now are beautifully imperfect, yet I feel so peaceful. Like I said, wonderfully full. My husband just turned the big 3-5 on Sunday, and we had a homemade pasta dinner {christening his new pasta attachment for the KitchenAid mixer} to celebrate.
He has completely mastered the art of homemade pasta. I might crown him an honorary Italian. As we sat down once again with friends around our farm table that he made with his own two hands, I was grateful again that sharing meals together is an important part of our lives, our story.
And this photo taken the same day just makes me smile. No matter how often I tidy up, our living room is chaos, with toys and car seats and burp cloths strewn on practically every surface. I took a moment to sit on my husband's back with our baby Norah while he did a magnetic world puzzle, and it's just so totally and completely random. But it's our crazy life that I love.
I hope you'll continue along with me during Lent as we seek to embrace these days more fully. And please share any insights you have about taking life more slowly - I'd love to know what that means for you.
