Getting snacks
Listening to music
Listening to LEGO being dug through
Bird watching
Doing paperwork
The above mundane activities describe my (Bethany) morning at home with the boys today, while Alex is up at the Ministry Centre.
Just like you, our Christmas week has been filled with much joy and laughter (and bickering…from all ages!) We had a great time at church on Sunday, followed by Christmas joy as a family on Monday. Tuesday we hosted a birthday party for a friend, and I’m not sure what we did on Wednesday. Yesterday, Thursday, we took the boys to Monkey Land for their Christmas experience (in place of a notable gift). Today however was pretty much back to normal. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief. There is comfort in the normal, mundane daily activities.
A week before Christmas we had a morning prayer time at church. One of the prayer points was that we stay faithful to our time in the Word over the holidays. This really stuck with me. I think because I know how hard it is for me to be intentional about personal quiet time when the schedule is abnormal. I think that is why this morning was so refreshing to me, I was able to feast on that quiet time of prayer and Bible reading. It restored my parched soul.
As we wrap up 2023 and head into a new year, so many people are setting book reading goals, and picking a word for the year. Honestly, I shy away from such things because in a way that adds pressure to my heart and mind. I love goals, but sometimes they weigh me down and sidetrack me from the spontaneous things that come up. We need structure, but we also need to hold that structure carefully so we don’t miss other opportunities the Lord brings up. We need the everyday normal, but we also need to not be so focused on the normal and calm that we miss the blessings of abnormalities.
As you well know, this year was extremely abnormal for us, but I think if you asked any of the four of us you’d find that the Lord taught us each so much during those stretching days. He taught us to trust Him first and most when we had no normal rhythm of life. He taught us to open our mouths and praise Him when we mostly just wanted to run away and hide. He taught us that because we had been faithful in the mundane days and stored up His word in our hearts, He would carry us through until we once again got back to those normal days (whatever normal is?????).
So as I look ahead, I want to walk a careful balance of mundane and spontaneous. I am asking God to show me the plan, in His time and not force mine on Him. He is so good, and I know I can trust Him to continue to be only, always just that….GOOD!
If you'd like to see some pictures so far, here is a link to an album we've started on Facebook: “Souf Affica” (Caleb’s pronunciation)
Prayer Requests
Alex is preaching this Sunday and next Sunday.
Continued safety and good health
Continued relationship building here in George
Safe travels as we begin our journey back to South Carolina on Wednesday, January 17
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