Grace in the Mundane
Ordinary Life – Amazing God
SILENCE
“Snow brings a special quality with it – the power to stop life as you know it dead in its tracks.” –Nancy Hatch Woodward.
I have no idea who Nancy Hatch Woodward is but this quote lines up with this blog. When I look at this picture of the snow, I am reminded of how I feel when I sit at a window in the middle of winter and look out and watch it snow. There is some type of quite peace that is found in watching snow fall. There is no sound even though there is movement. There is only a deep seated peace and still. Close your eyes for a minute and just imagine it, can you see it, can you feel it?
I felt that same still peace when I opened my eyes this morning. We had the window open, it was light out and all I could hear were birds, maybe an occasional dog barking but not even very many of those. This was late morning not like 6:00 A.M. There were no voices outside, no one mowing their lawn, NO cars on the road. No one out moving about. No one headed out for early morning errands, no one rushing to get their yard mowed before starting their busy day, no one headed off to baseball or soccer games, birthday parties or family gatherings.
It’s peaceful, yet a little disturbing for someone who wears “busy” as a crown. Brittany and Bella sing the wheels on the bus when they are going somewhere in the car. They have their own version, everyone in the family has their own saying. Chris on the bus says “Go Cubs Go”, Poppy on the bus says “Boo Ya”, each family member has their own thing. Mimi on the bus says, “hurry up, hurry up”. That is a perfect description of MiMi, constantly going, constantly doing. Busy is a crutch, or a coping mechanism for me. If I am busy, I must be important, right? If I am busy I must be doing things and people will like me, right? If I am busy I must be pleasing God, right? If I am busy I don’t have to stop and process or take inventory of my life. I know those are wrong and bad, I KNOW. They are a DNA I am trying very hard to break.
This whole shut down has shed some light on that for me. A part of me almost feels guilty. It hasn’t really hit yet here in the small town in the midwest where I live. I am not naive enough to think that it won’t. I am practicing all the things we are suppose to be doing to keep everyone safe. In reality right now I am getting a couple of days a week off, I am getting more time at home with Brett, cooking, reading, relaxing. This is not a real hard ship for me yet. I feel horrible for the people who are in the middle of all of this, who are losing loved ones, who are worried about loved ones, who go to work everyday wondering if they are bringing it home to their family, who have lost their jobs, who are worried about their businesses. People who are being majorly affected by all of this. But right now for me it is just a minor inconvenience. I know that is the grace of God on my life, and I am thankful for it.
This virus, like a major snow storm, has the ability to stop life as we know it dead in our tracks. But that same snow storm brings a calm and a peace. Lets find the calm and the peace in Corona. Maybe like me God is telling you, just be still and listen. Watch and see what I will do in this. I have heard people say they are praying more than they ever have before. People are spending Saturday mornings, sleeping in, relaxing, and enjoying their families instead of rushing out the door. People are cooking and eating at home together. People who would never set foot in a church are watching sermons on line. Busy people are seeing its OK to slow down.
I don’t know what the future holds in all of this, but I do know who holds the future, and I trust in the one who does. May you find the peace and the calm in the storm today.
Grace in the Mundane 