What makes up your days? If you had to list all the elements that make up your lifescape, could you do it? You may be surprised by what you find.
A friend and I shared this week about feeling stuck. Have you ever felt that way? Like you couldn’t decide if life feels too full or not full enough. Do you struggle with knowing what should come next? Have you questioned whether or not you meet God’s call on your life with any regularity?
Some mornings I wake up and it takes me more than a couple of minutes to get my bearings. That initial shock of waking pain serves as a daily reminder of my current phase of life. I enjoyed my youth and taxed my joints perhaps more than I should have. Now, in my 50th year, I feel all the fun I had. Do you know the feeling?
Still, I throw caution to the wind and do more than I should sometimes. That holds true in more aspects of my life than just physical activity. I schedule life in a willy-nilly fashion. Since the girls launched, I have had more time available. I get to say yes to a more laissez-faire lifestyle of lunch dates, meetings, and random retail therapy all over the place and often on a whim.
Whether we go there willingly or get carried there by bearing too many responsibilities, women can easily find ourselves hurting and suddenly questioning what makes up our days.
Toward the end of August, Hubby Guy made a surprising discovery in the backyard. As he mowed around a particular tree, he almost planted his face into a giant hornet nest. Somehow, all summer it went unnoticed. We theorize the weight of it had bowed the branch, bringing it to face level by mowing day. I took a picture of the nest after most of the leaves fell from that tree.
Sooner or later, we all walk through patches of life that require some regrouping. A couple of years ago I endured just such a season. For months on end, I needed to limit input. Even reading felt like a challenge for me. My brain refused additional information of any kind. As unfun as the experience was for me, it helped me discover areas in life in need of attention. When all the leaves had fallen, I could see the bees.
Hubby Guy heroically ridded our yard of the big, scary hornet nest. In the same way, we can bravely endure those uncomfortable times of regrouping in life. I feel much better with the giant specter removed from our landscape. I also tend to feel much better after God allows some leaves to fall so He can remove dangerous thoughts, habits, and time wasters from my lifescape.
As the leaves outside are falling, allow some time to take inventory.