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pause

I love the fact that God made us all so different.  So beautifully unique.  Yet all made in His perfect image.

Some people see things one way.  And others see things from a different angle.

(That’s mud…just in case you were wondering.)

I have come a very long way in understanding who I am and what makes me tick.  There was a time when I didn’t know what the heck I wanted out of life.  I was so confused.  I looked for love in all the wrong places and found my affirmation in the things of the world.

Then I became a wife and a mother and I knew that this was good.  I loved being a wife, and when the Lord started adding children to the mix, I knew I had hit the jackpot.  All of a sudden…life made sense.  Every question that I ever had about who I was or what I wanted to do with my life got answered. 

I was so happy and content with what the Lord had placed in my hands to do.

Yet we never stop learning and growing and maturing in our faith, in our marriages, and in our parenting.  As our family has grown and life as we know it has become busier, I have realized something about myself.

I need to pause.

To be still.

To get out of the house.

And take my shoes off.

I need it.

Pausing for me does not mean that I have this crazy desire to escape from my reality and find refreshment in time alone. I don’t need moments of uninterrupted solitude and extended times away from my family.

No, pausing for me means taking time to be with my family.  Just being.

Whether we take a little impromptu drive to a quiet spot on the river bank and let our feet feel the coolness of the water on a warm, cloudy day….

Where clothes can be removed and little ones can sit in water-logged diapers, and that’s quite alright–because it’s perfectly okay to not be organized and have it all together all of the time. 

Where we don’t care about what got left behind in our haste to leave the house, because really, it just doesn’t matter.

At all.

Or whether we drive a little farther to smell the saltiness of the ocean and feel the sand under our feet.

I need to pause every now and then.

And nothing gives me more satisfaction than pausing, slowing down, and catching my breath with my family.

With the ones I love.

I love the book of Psalms.  It is one of my favorite in the Bible.  I love that God calls us to pause, to “Selah,” or “Interlude,” as it says in some translations, throughout the book of Psalms.

Selah.  Just pause for a second and think on these things.

“Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
safe beneath the shelter of your wings!”              Selah
Psalm 61:4

God is so intentional throughout His word about us pausing, being still, resting, and focusing on the things that matter.  The things that count.  The things that have eternal value.

Anthony knows me well.  He knows when I need time to pause.  Those times when I need to get out of the house and have a change in scenery.  He’ll quickly suggest a little family outing and before I know it, we’re piling into the car and heading to some place away from home where we can regroup and refresh.

And it is good.

Not only is slowing down good for me, but it is good for the whole family. 

I love those moments when I’m fully present with my children.  Phones get turned off and the rest of the world gets forgotten.  It’s just us.

We pause together.

“Praise the Lord; praise God our Savior!
For each day He carries us in His arms.”            Selah
Psalm 68:19

We rest in the arms of those who love us, cuddle without interruption, and snuggle just a little longer.

We relish the closeness that is family.

Pausing is brief.  It never lasts for very long.  But when we do it, it feels like water poured out on a dry land.  And when we return to our normal life, it is with renewed energy and a deeper love that binds us together. 

I love to have time out with my family.

And savor the sweetness of these whom I have been blessed with.

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