Good morning to you on this fine autumn day!
Today I’m doing something just a little different and sharing a few field notes, a gathering of what the landscape of life has been teaching me. If you have a moment to pause and ponder what the landscape of your life is teaching you, I’d love to hear—either in the comments or via email.
- The phrase “It’s a season” is good, true, helpful, and hopeful. It also, I’m learning, encourages me to expect it to run its course within a certain timeframe. This leads me to focus on the end prematurely. Some seasons are just long. Focusing on When-is-this-going-to-get-over-already is not actually all that helpful. This is a new idea for me. (Stay tuned. There’s more to come about this topic.)
- God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. That doesn’t mean we won’t experience weariness.
- During more than twenty-three years of parenting, I have done the doctor’s appointments with our children. Nearly all of them. During this long season, when I haven’t been able to make it to every single appointment, the men in my life—my husband, my son, and my father—have stepped in admirably. I am grateful. Humbled, even.
- Regardless of the tangles within our medical and insurance systems, I am grateful for doctors, and nurses, and insurance.
- I love a good snowfall, but when autumn has seemed short and the snow flies early, I feel like I’m missing something significant.
- Whatever you love, whatever God has called you to—keep learning, keep practicing, keep fresh.
- Working with (read: teaching and directing) seventh to twelfth-grade students makes my soul sing. It also makes me very, very tired.
- The above reality reminds me that most of what matters exists in tension, often as both–and–and. (You know, both bitter and sweet. Both hard and hopeful. Both painful and exhilarating.) When it comes to matters that don’t make my soul sing, I desperately need this reminder.
- I may have said this before but it bears repeating. Cliche’ or not, there is no place like home. Even when it’s messy. Or busy. Or chaotic. The last road trip of the year is over and done with and I’m glad and grateful to be home—even though my time away was good for my heart, my mind, and my soul. (And, for those reasons, probably my body.)
Ponder the path: What is the landscape of your life is teaching you? Let me know—either in the comments or via email. I’d love to hear!
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Happy Trails ~
Natalie 🥾
Sharing stories over at Fuel for a Wildfire Faith and Wecome Heart.
I never seen snow. ( Florida Life). It looks so beautiful. I am super jealous.
So much goodness here! I feel like it’s an appropriately autumnal post, (though winter has arrived donning boxing gloves). That seasonal tension, the longing for resolution (preferably the neat, tidy, predictable variety), the work involved in cultivating the gifts God’s given us… I was listening to a podcast today about gratitude, and the suggestion was (in the words of our friend Blessed Solanus Casey) to “thank God ahead of time.” In the mess, in the work, in the beauty, the joy – everywhere. To thank God unconditionally and without expectation. Because in every situation we face, God’s at work for our salvation whether we see it or not. I think you have a handle on this 🙂 I look forward to keeping your family in my prayers, and reading your blog!!!
Thanks so much for your sweet encouragement and for sharing your thoughts. Thanking God ahead of time is something I need to work on. Thanks for that reminder. Thanks for praying . . . and for reading.
Home is always my favorite place. And I find home is wherever my people are. Thanks for sharing your field notes 🙂
Where your people are. What a beautiful place to find home.
Your post is an inspiration to step back and admire the view. God has given so much, and my thanks is never enough.
Stepping back to admire the view–I like that, Michelle. Perspective helps me see God’s gifts in a truer light.