when inspiration is found in rest...

What I always appreciate about vacations are how invigorated and inspired they always make me feel. The humdrum of life is so nicely broken up by a break away, be it a short or long break. Even just a day away holds the potential to refresh me and inspire me to view life through a different frame.

Vacations, days of rest, days away from our home do not usually make me want to stay away longer. Instead, I always find myself inspired and motivated to tackle my calling, my tasks, my home with more vigor and definitely more appreciation for the life I've been blessed with, reconfirming to me just how important it is to schedule in these moments of rest. Whether it be a day, a week, or maybe even just fifteen minutes, rest is so important to us as created beings. Why else would God give us the example of rest? Did God need to rest? Was he exhausted after creating the universe? Of course not. He rested to be an example to us. Our Creator knows the importance of rest and quiet in our lives.

While away on vacation, Ian turned eleven. Which got me thinking. In ten years, my dad and mom will be seventy. Ian will be twenty-one. Lily eighteen. And Brad and I will be forty-five. Ten years is a year short of the number of years we've had with Ian and those have gone by so fast. Just a reminder that life is but a vapor. And this reminder has encouraged me to really relish the moments. Each moment counts for something. Each moment makes a difference. Each moment has an impact on what is to come.

These short moments really do matter.

And to take these little short moments and gather them all up in a basket, we have our lives. Our lives are made up of all the short fragments. These little moments are the building blocks. Piece by piece, they are stacked and joined. So wouldn't it be wise for us to consider how we spend each one of these precious moments?

These are some thoughts I've been challenged with as of late.

I want to make each moment of my time here on this planet count for something. Even the dull moments can be life-changing when viewed, not through rosy-colored glasses, but through the lens of gratitude and thankfulness. The hard moments too, the ones that press and threaten to consume, even those can be approached with new meaning when looked at through a providential lens.

I'm learning how much my view and my attitude impact these moments, my children, my relationship with my husband, my relationship with those around me, my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

I want to see life through the eyes of Providence. I want to see life as a gift. I want to see life as good, although hard and challenging, but good because there is indeed still good left in this world. Even amidst the sin and the evil, there is still good in this world. Why? Because Jesus still lives and will live forevermore.

And that, my friends, is our source of hope. That is why we can walk confidently through this life. Not because of our talents or our ability to face the hard times, but because we walk through life with the Creator right next to us.

So I pray that I will continue to hold these moments of life in my hand just as my daughter lovingly and carefully holds her gems. As treasures. As little things to be cherished. As gifts sometimes wrapped up in beauty yet sometimes wrapped up in the messiness of life.

I want to make each one meaningful.  


{Cinnamon roll recipe here.}