Making Space for Quiet in Your Noisy Life, Part 1

Wow! I blink and three months go by lately. 

Does anyone else feel that way?

Sorry for my absence here…Hello again. 

I could go into all the reasons for my absence, but honestly it was nothing major. Just life…lots and lots of life. Good life. Busy life. Fun life. #Momlife. 

It was post Christmas clean up and recovery, birthdays, potlucks, my part-time job at the big girls school this year, house projects, taking care of a parent that was struggling with illness (and all that that can entail at times), some skiing, some de-cluttering, and lots of daily life in-between.

But I miss writing when I’m too busy living the daily…when I’m not writing it makes me feel like I’m not living the way I was meant to live. I know makes a lot of sense to those of you who also process the world through words—whether in public or the private pages of journals. Writing is how I process the world, my thoughts and my emotions.  It’s often where I meet with God most intimately—in my journals in the morning--and where He says the most profound things to me. 

All that to say, I've been thinking about how I could consistently re-renter this blogging space and have come up with a plan for the rest of the year: Instead of just writing eclectically and haphazardly about whatever comes to mind (I’m good at that because my brain spits out ideas like popcorn in an air popper!) I’m going to write around the idea of one word or theme each month. This will help ya’ll know what to expect, and it will help keep me on track—both very good things.

For the rest of March I will be writing about the word “Quiet”—about finding quiet, being quiet, the spiritual necessity of quiet: About what it means to seek quiet spaces in a noisy world.

At the end of December I picked a “word of the year” for 2020.  I didn’t share it on Facebook or Instagram or even here on this blog…I just held it in my heart and my mind and started asking God what it meant. I first asked God to put a word on my heart, and then quietly listened for His response. 

Renew, he said. Renew. 

What does that mean God?  I asked. 

I always want to know the meaning of things right away…I want the whole picture so I can plan accordingly. You planners know what I’m talking about, right?

But, God doesn’t usually work that way.

Was He saying saying that it was time to renew some things in my life? Perhaps. I’d  been feeling tired and weary in a number of places and spaces for a long season of time. 

Was it just a word, or was it a promise? A promise of renewal in store for the weary places in my soul.

I liked the sound of that…but wasn’t totally sure.

Either way, here’s the thing, when God says He wants to do something in our lives we have to partner with Him—it requires action on our part—even if it’s quiet action (like committing to our quiet time with Him daily). And so I committed to simply holding the word “renew” in my heart and to begin watching for ways He wanted to unfold its truth into my life. 

While I’m still not fully sure what He’s up to (He’s always up to something in our lives) He’s been inspiring hope in my heart that there are ways for me, for all of us, to be living more fully—to be more fully present and more fully ourselves.

I’m beginning to think that as we learn to live more fully in His presence we will find renewal and abundance in places that have felt tired and barren for years.

In her devotional Life Giving Choices my friend Lucinda Secrest McDowell says this in her entry on rest:

 “No matter how long your restful time apart is, it will be an investment in your life and work, with visible benefits. Maybe not immediately. But clearing out the clutter in your mind and heart makes way for fresh work, a fresh filling. Even our Lord Jesus withdrew to a solitary place for refreshment and renewal-emerging with power…Will you rest?"

I love this reminder that our rest is both about stopping and becoming—we must stop (and be quiet for a time), so that we can become what God is calling us to.

I hope you’ll join me on my journey.

Stop back on Monday (the day I will be posting consistently from here on out) to read about a recent experience where my noisy, fun-loving and (sometimes crazy!) family left me running for the library (to find some quiet!), and how that was exactly what I needed to do.

And, just in case you’re interested here is a monthly list of the topics I will be focusing on this year:

March: Quiet/Rest

April: Renew

May: Writing in the Middle of Motherhood

June: Identity

July: Progress (and Grace!)

August: Adventure

September: Rhythms

October: Seasons

November: Gratitude

December: Advent