Autumn and Lessons Learned

Yesterday marked the beginning of my favorite season of the year -- autumn. If I had the privilege of having another daughter, I would name her Autumn. The colors, the changing shadows, the cool mornings, the purposefulness without busyness, the holidays and focus on being praiseworthy .... all the reasons I love this time of year.

It has taken me over a week of snatching pockets of time daily to accomplish our yearly autumn-time harvest for decorating our home and property. This seems to be my new reality -- snatching pockets of time. God is stretching me in this as I much prefer staying at a task until I see it to completion. This "season" in my life is not allowing for much of that. Instead, daily -- minute by minute, I focus on serving my family in new ways and often little bits at a time.

The root cellar has been filled with a much more realistic and manageable amount of produce -- pumpkins and potatoes thus far. The leftovers serve as decorations and gifts to friends and family. Although early, we harvested and tilled under our large garden last weekend bringing a large "ahhhhhhh" to my spirit in spite of the inevitable tear or two that fell at the bittersweet reality .... another year has passed. They go so quickly now.

I've learned some lessons already in our first 4 weeks of homeschooling. I learn just as many as the children do :-) God is teaching me the practical side of LOVE. Through a diligent study of 1 Corinthians 13, I'm realizing that love is action, purposeful and meaningful. It is truly dying to my own flesh and giving of myself in innumerable ways. It takes time and patience and much, much prayer.

I'm learning that multi-tasking in every area is not necessarily good for my soul. Learning to slow down and savoring the simple things done by themselves is becoming a cherished thing in my life. I look forward to putting this concept into practice in the weeks to come. Blessings all!