Serenity

Do you remember on the show Seinfeld how Jerry's dad used to always shout out, "serenity NOW," when he was having an argument with his wife? I have lots of moments like that, not arguing with my husband, but when there is a lot of noise and activity around, when I just want a little serenity! Well, I'm enjoying my peaceful weekend and time to clear my head of all those serenity-robbing voices. It's not so much the noise of having a houseful of children that gets to me. It's all the other voices, the niggling ones, that induce guilt and tell you you're not doing what you should be doing, that there are better ways to spend a day, that busyness equals happiness. Those are the voices that steal my joy, that prevent me from being the woman I am created to be.

A dear friend of mine (Hi Margaret) has made this one of my favourite verses of scripture:

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

So powerful, isn't it? It seems so simple, all black and white like that. There are so many things that seem to try and crowd me off the path of walking with my God. Do more, get more, BE more...that's what I seem to hear in the voices that call out from the culture around me. I want what is good though, so I'll keep trudging along the path of justice, mercy, and humility.

Okay, enough about the voices in my head. You're all shaking your heads at this crazy woman's blog now! I've spent the day leisurely, enjoying some time to create. This layout of my son uses two pictures from his year of preschool. He was a BUSY kid in those days and I remember seeing these photos for the first time. They took my breath away! I loved that haircut, those soft rosy cheeks, and that cute baby face. He's nearly ten now and somewhere in between that little boy and the man he'll grow to be. Life just zooms sometimes, doesn't it? I'm so thankful for him!

More later, gotta get back to, well, just being quiet for a while.