When my husband and I were married (14 years ago this month), we set a goal to visit America's National Parks. We haven't made it too far into our list during those years (with hopefully plenty more years to visit). But, we have enjoyed the parks we've already visited and fortunately our family just added two more to the list. The three of us escaped to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks this past week. The weather was perfect and the trip was beautiful! But, I really do mean it when I say escaped. Life here is wonderfully blessed but we've been so busy lately. Too busy. The busy things on the list are all good - well, mostly good. We try to take time to sit down and have meals together, talk to each other, and be active as a family. But, it seems like this summer has practically flown by and I realized that we've missed out on being present more than I would have liked. Anyway, we unplugged and escaped and I also mean TRULY unplugged. There was no television, internet or cell phone service in most of the areas of these parks. You couldn't distract yourself with Tweets if you tried. And, I tried. Once I broke the habit of checking for service, I let out this huge sigh of relief. The pressure was off, I didn't have to keep up or know what everyone else was doing. I did not have to post images of my trip for the world to see (no one really cares about what I had for breakfast anyway, do they?) and I don't know why but I think I was afraid something was going to happen that I was not going to know about and then I realized the alternative. I realized I was momentarily failing at something (savoring and enjoying the journey) that I have turned into a calling. I realized I must slow down, relax, enjoy God's peace, and savor this trip. I needed to chill out. And guess what? The silence was beautiful. Our family bought a deck of cards (of course I packed all the chargers for our electronics but didn't think about a deck of cards). I listened to my child. I was answered by my husband with his eyes (and not the top of his head as he caught up on the news from his tweets). We made up card games because I couldn't even access Google in order to find the proper "rules" for our card games and guess what? It was awesome!! I admit this temptation because I realize like other addictions, they can easily take over if we let them (and surely I'm not the only one). Social media and communication is constant and I love it. Did I mention that I love it? I am a learner and a sharer and social media is a great tool. But, I'm realizing at times I do allow it to suck the peace opportunities away from me. I let it distract me from life too much. I let it soak up golden opportunities for silence. Now, it is true I find moments of peace and encouragement on social media. I've connected with wonderful new friends and old friends alike thanks to social media. It is also true that I share moments of peace on social media. But, at the same time, those social media "highs" can distract me from life opportunities and they surely don't allow me to be still (if you click this link you'll see I wrote about being still before we left and I still missed the boat). If I am not careful, so much can take me away from true conversations and the stillness I crave. Note to self: the concept is to be still, not be still while I read tweets. So, I'm sorry if I've done that to you. Yellowstone and the Tetons didn't let me, they demanded the attention their scenery deserved and now I hope to carry those less-distracted adventures right back home with me. I hope to give God and others the attention they deserve. After all, God made your beauty too! By the way, this isn't a new concept I'm on to. There are quite a few bloggers who ironically spend there time on social media talking about how they need to unplug from social media. I'm not harping on them for that irony. Rather, I'm thanking them for the reminders! So, it's with more questions than answers that I return from a beautiful land out West in our country. We saw amazing animals, gorgeous scenery, and the pupils in each others eyes. I want to carry those moments back home, I don't want to miss God's beauty. I want us to break open the game cabinet, put away our distractions, and find peace in our living room. Today I had a lunch date with our son and purposely did not take my phone out of my bag. And, our 9 year-old is also implementing a weekly mandatory game night and I think that's a great start for our family! Yet, I'm still tempted and know I have some work to do myself. I don't think I'm ready for the extreme like ditching my smart phone (although I resisted a long time and now I think I know why). What are your thoughts or ideas? Anyone feel as vulnerable as me on this journey toward peace? Anyone out there as tempted as me to escape the to do list or the lines or the boring moments of life (and sometimes the good moments of life) with the latest newsfeed or photos? Anyone out there let the to do list rule the day instead of lunch moments and a deck of cards? Is it just me? Please tell me, it isn't just me! So, thank you to our National Parks for not only the scenery, but for the encouragement to unplug and enjoy the grandeur of our earth with my family. It was great! I'm ready to live into this life more fully with my family each day, not just in our National Parks. Thank you also to a new friend whose book is loaded in my Kindle (to help motivate us not to let our adventurous trip fizzle away and claim those moments more regularly). And, I'm going to log off rather than get sucked in to whether or not you read or comment on this post (although if you do, that would make logging back on a lot more fun). After-all, I realize blogging is not what life is all about. Life is about savoring these moments together before they slip away. It just so happens that for me, blogging about these moments, helps me process and savor them a while longer. This past week has been full and at times overwhelming (if I'm to be truly honest). I'm very thankful I started the year off with a silent retreat last weekend to prepare (if even barely) for the coming year. We are now already ten days into a new year as I write these words. I love words. Words help me heal, they help me share, they help me love, they help me process, they help me understand, they help me mourn, they help me believe, they help me have hope, they help. Words are powerful. So, for me, to select a single word for the coming year is a greater challenge than creating a long list of wordy resolutions (yes, I know I am wordy and this alone should likely be on a resolution list - hence the silent retreat). Choosing one word for the year is a practice I've entered in before and this year, with the help of Christine, I was encouraged and confirmed in my word: ...embrace... So, although only God knows what is to come in 2013, I choose to embrace it (whatever that means or may look like). This week I have multiple friends facing the loss of loved ones (some with time to say goodbye and some of those friends have lost their loved ones unexpectedly). I have a precious boy celebrating Honor Roll. I have new opportunities in ministry. And, I also have a sink full of dirty dishes, mail to be opened, bills to be paid and a cough that has returned. I have some new boundaries and exciting new challenges. The only way to live fully into the coming year is to embrace each of these moments and the many more to come because only God knows the road ahead. "MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone." -Thomas Merton A friend of mine at Gallatin CARES who walks all over town - literally - is one of the most joyful people I know. He is also one of the most faithful members of our weekly Wednesday Bible Study and shows up no matter the weather, on foot. I will also admit, he is the kind of friend that has had to grow on me. At first, I wasn't so sure how to respond to him. My friend, we will call him Jim, is full of excitement and praise - loud praise. The first few times I delivered the message at our Sunday service, I got multiple "Amens" and "Uh-huhs". I wasn't sure if he genuinely liked what I was saying or if he just liked that I was quick to get to my point and not very long-winded! Jim will often interrupt me when I am leading Bible Study each week to be sure I don't miss any points. He also repeats much of what I say either because he wanted to make sure he understood or because he couldn't hear me the first time. Sometimes I have to kindly and clearly ask Jim to simply sit down and be quiet. Jim will give me a good hearty "Hello" and "How are you doing?" the moment he catches my eye, every time he sees me (or anyone in his path). Let's be honest, Jim, may not have been the most likely choice for a friend. The fact that he has daughters older than me is just one of the many differences in our lives. Jim and I have one thing in common, we both want to grow in our faith and sometimes that can be uncomfortable. The week we practiced silence as a spiritual discipline in Bible Study was especially challenging for Jim. However, he practiced. Jim was the only member of our Bible Study to report back to me that he practiced his silence every single night that week. He did also follow up with how hard it was to practice silence (that got a good honest giggle from the other friends hearing his silence update). Jim wants to be in on the action. He wants to be included and part of a community. Jim wants to learn. Jim wants to give back. Recently, Jim picked up his bag that he carries all over town and began digging to the bottom. He told me he had something special for me and I was not sure what he was going to pull out of that bag. It reminded me briefly of an episode of "Let's Make a Deal", but not being sure what he was digging for, I was a bit hesitant to reach out and receive. Jim pulled out a tiny container of Almond Joy coffee creamer (the kind you find at a gas station coffee bar). He held it up to me with a giant smile on his face and a giggle in his voice. He told me he wanted me to have this highly coveted flavor of creamer and asked if I drank coffee. I enthusiastically replied yes (which is a slight stretch of the truth since the closest I get to coffee is a Decaf Starbucks Via in my favorite Chocolate Mocha Smoothie). I said yes because I couldn't not receive this gift of joy - Almond Joy. Christmas giving can be so routine. It can be stressful. Jim has taught me a lot. He has reminded me of the story of the widow's mite. He has taught me it is not about what I give, but how I give. I hope I can give this season with an ounce of the joy that Jim gives. Mostly, I think that my unlikely friend, "Almond Jim", has taught me to receive. He has taught me it is indeed possible to receive in both the silence and the noise this Advent season. May you find joy this Christmas! |
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