Musings in the Quiet

We've had a few inches of snow fall in the last few hours, and I've been mesmerized by the quiet.  With the cold weather (it's been -20 or colder all week), and having a couple of bouncing-off-the-walls kids, there have been many moments of loud.  When you have three littles running around, the house is seldom quiet. 

But it also makes you slow down.  You really have to decide if it's worth dressing them in layers, dragging them out the door and making them go between the nice warm vehicle to the freezing cold outdoors.  So you decide to do other things instead.  You take the time to notice the gorgeous colours in the sky as the sun goes to bed (which happens just after 4 at our house).  You watch the clouds as they meander across the sky. 

And when you do venture out of the house?  Well, you stay inside as long as you can of course!  We visited with a friend at work (he works in a bakery and always gives the kids a treat), and while we were there, we snuck in an art lesson watching his coworker decorate a cake.

You spend a lot more time cuddled up on the couch, reading books and watching shows.  And these may seem like simple little things, maybe even boring. 

But some of my fondest memories from my own childhood are just these.

I distinctly remember one night when the power went out.  We lived a ways out of town, so the power always took hours to come back on.  And we tried to do a puzzle by candle light.  It was hilarious!  The candle really just made the shine on the puzzle pieces blinding, and you were left just randomly trying to match it to other pieces since you couldn't see the colours on it.

With all of these social media competitions to see who is "doing" the most with their kids, shuttling them back and forth to all of their activities, we can lose the just "being" with our kids.  And I think those moments are the most beautiful.  Making memories with simple things.

Love don't cost a thing - at least for littles.

I challenge you today to just pause and watch those around you.  The joy that comes into someone's face when they see someone they love.  Or the colours put on display in a way that only He could.  I don't think that he designed such stunning moments for us to rush through them, do you?

Father, I pray that you would help us to slow down and appreciate all you have blessed us with.  You have given us so much more than we will ever realize.  And I thank you for that.  Help us to see the world through your eyes.  Let us seize the opportunities that you have placed in our day to just be with those we love and savour those moments.  In your name I pray.  Amen.