Life Happens in the Ordinary

There is so much to do.

So much to accomplish.

The world spins fast, doesn’t it?

And we fill it with so many things.

We speed from place to place or activity to activity checking all the boxes off our To Do lists.

But after years of doing and accomplishing and spinning and filling and checking off, I’ve come realize the real substance of life happens in the quiet ordinary moments of our days.

The moments when we STILL our bodies long enough to connect and laugh and love.

LIFE HAPPENS IN THE ORDINARY.

And I never want to be too busy to notice.

I hope I’m never too rushed to slide into bed next to my littlest boy as he wakes in the morning just to feel his warm little body next to mine and inhale that sleepy, rumpled little boy smell.

I hope I’m never too busy to pause and smile at my daughter’s sweet voice singing Baby Shark as she washes her dolls with soap in the tub while I fold and put away laundry.

I hope I’m never too caught up to play hand after hand of UNO to the sound of my little boy’s infectious laugh that ALWAYS makes me laugh too!

I hope I’m never too stressed to listen to a freckled faced blue-eyed boy retell the details of his day. “Hey Mom, guess what…?” or “Hey Mom, did you know…?” I want to absorb it ALL!!

I hope I’m never too distracted to notice the feel of my daughter’s body relaxed in my arms and head resting on my shoulder as I carry her up to bed. Or linger at the top of the stairs and look at myself in the mirror thinking, “Remember this. This is how you look as a mom.”

I hope I’m never too overwhelmed to lay listening to my middle boy read Harry Potter on the top bunk by the glow of a booklight at bedtime as the rest of our house falls asleep.

I hope I’m never too overscheduled to sit around the kitchen table with my big boys as they inhale late night snacks or laugh over memes while I take in every bit of their growing up.

I hope I’m never too exhausted to sit on the couch after bedtime rehashing the day with my husband while the Tonight Show plays in the background.

And, more than anything else…I hope I’m never too preoccupied for Him.

I hope I’m never too busy to stop and pray throughout the day and give God the glory for it all. I simply can’t do ANY of it without Him.

God, thank you for this ordinary little life…

There is so much to do, yes.

I know I’m moving too fast.

But I don’t ever want to be too busy or stressed or distracted or overwhelmed that I forget to notice it all as it passes.

LIFE HAPPENS IN THE ORDINARY.

Dear God, please help me to notice.