A Quiet Place

Tonight I am sitting outside on my deck listening to the sounds of outdoors. My dog, Izzy, and I are silently enjoying God's creation. As I sit here, taking it all in my mind wanders and time stands still. And then a thought invades my mind...

Why don't I do this more often? The painful answer is that I don't value this moment enough. There are too many other things that get in the way. But each time I sit in this chair, I feel so relaxed. I feel so calm and can actually stop and enjoy all the events of the day.

Recently, we started something new in our house. This quiet reflection time was not only missing from my day but also from my children's day. Where was the time for them to reflect, imagine, or create? We were all getting too wrapped up in our "to-do" lists! So we implemented a "no electronics" time in the house. Every afternoon from 5:30-7:00 we put it all down (yes, even the phone)! As you can imagine the reaction was mixed. This was going to be an adjustment for all of us. However this week, I caught my daughter in her garden weeding and talking with a friend. She was enjoying herself so much that she didn't even notice that it was past 7:00. I hope we will be able to extend this quiet time but for now, I am content to just take baby steps!