Tag: the little things

Faith, Gratefulness, gratitude, Health, Life

Good Things

Sondra

My last slow morning of the summer. Today is Labor Day and I’ve enjoyed my morning immensely. I haven’t done anything spectacular. I’ve had my coffee and Jesus time. I’ve started washing bedding. I’ve washed dishes. I’ve put the meatloaf in the crockpot for dinner. Just little things that I was able to accomplish without rushing around to try and get to work on time.

Mike woke up and did the morning chores before he went into town to get a part he needed to fix the brush hog. He brought home breakfast burritos and Keith as well. After fixing the brush hog, he took Keith home and then came back to start brush hogging. He has a lot to get done before colder weather hits. There’s always something to do around here. Our to-d0 lists never end. I’m thankful for the day off to gain a little ground on the list. It’s good for the soul.

I looked up and out the window a few minutes ago and saw leaves falling from the tree and blowing in the wind. I love this time of year when the mornings are cooler, and sometimes the days stay cooler as well. I could live with this climate all year round. I don’t need the spring rain, the summer sun, or the winter snow. I just want this. 

I want a lot of things that I cannot have. It’s not that they are bad things. I don’t want bad things. I want only what I consider to be good things. But are they only good? What would happen to the ecosystem if all we had was 60 degree lows and 80 degree highs? What would happen to the earth if we didn’t have the spring rain, the summer sun, or the winter snow? Things to think about and remember that, even though I might not like something, it is necessary for the way God created the world to work. He knew what He was doing. He designed everything to work together (Romans 8:38).

~Sondra~

Gratefulness, Life, motivation, photography, Uncategorized

Country Roads

Sondra

It’s the simple things. I don’t have to climb any more mountains for I have stood on the peaks already. I’ve floated on faith in the rivers at the bottom and found victories in the valleys.

Who are they?

Where did they come from? Have they always lived here?

Are there children? Pets?

Who are their parents/grandparents?

What do they do for a living?

What do they do in their free time?

What are their stories?

I know it’s none of my business, but I can’t help but wonder as I creep by the houses. What else am I supposed to do while driving this slow?

I try not to stare. I know that some of these houses have cameras pointing toward the road, catching the cars that drive by. Noticing the people who are looking for a reason to come back.

I am not coming back for anything. I’m just following my husband on the tractor, letting my mind wander a bit as we go.

I remember growing up that we knew our neighbors. We talked to them, went to church with them, sometimes worked with them. We sat on our porches and waved as they came out into their yards. We invited them over for dinner. Kids went outside and played with other kids. Do people do that anymore? Are we so busy that we don’t take time to get to know them? Are our noses stuck in our phones so much that we don’t look up to notice? Have people developed such anxiety and fear of other people?

Don’t take this the wrong way because I do scroll my social media to “catch up” with what my friends are doing, but maybe it’s time we put the phone down, unplugged, and invited the neighbor over for coffee instead? Yes, I know that can be risky. And I know that shrinks our world because we have family and friends who live so far away. I’m not saying technology doesn’t have its place and hasn’t made some things better. But sometimes, it’s made things worse.

Human connection has been replaced by screens and people don’t know how to treat each other anymore. We don’t trust each other. We don’t respect each other. We don’t know each other at a level that we used to. 

Today I am taking my own advice and having lunch with a friend I’ve had since kindergarten. ☺ We go way back to the time when there were no cell phones, social media, or cyber-bullying. We rode our bikes down to the creek. We played school in the old, abandoned house across the road. We sat up and talked all night. We recorded songs off the radio. We sat and ate cereal at her kitchen table. And we built a connection that even my family moving away when I was 14 couldn’t erase. Back in the time of long distance phone calls and no internet, we were able to keep that friendship alive even though we didn’t talk and see each other very often. There were even handwritten letters that we mailed through the mail. 

I know, times have changed, but don’t lose what’s important. Connection trumps technology every time.

gratitude, Life, Uncategorized

Tornadoes & Rainbows

Sondra

tornadoes and rainbows

A little backstory on the name of the blog:

I teach preschool and work with children ages 3-5 years old. Last year one of my students drew me a picture. If you’ve ever seen the art of this age group, you know that mostly it is straight lines and some circles. You can’t tell what the picture is unless you ask. And, for future reference, it’s best to ask in this way: “Tell me about your picture.” When you ask “What did you draw?” or when you assume and say “You drew a dinosaur” when in reality they drew a picture of their mom, well, it could end badly. So say things like, “Tell me about your picture.” Just trust me on this.

On this particular day, a five year-old girl brought me a picture that she drew on a half piece of construction paper. There are linear scribbles and what looks like a squiggly line. I said, “Susie (not her real name), tell me about your picture.” She said, “It’s tornadoes and rainbows.” I said, “You drew tornadoes and rainbows.” She then launched into a story about a storm recently when she was afraid of a tornado and at the end there was a rainbow.

And then it hit me. It’s all tornadoes and rainbows. Some days the storm clouds form and we might worry. Some days there are ligit storms that we must go through. And some days are rainbows. A beautiful, colorful, peaceful rainbow.

I’ve seen many tornadoes and rainbows in my life, as I am sure that you have as well. I’ve had storms. I’ve had emotional storms, health storms, financial storms, relational storms. As a mom and preschool teacher I’ve had days that feel like I’ve walked right into the path of a tornado. As a woman I’ve faced the storm of cancer. And I’ve rainbows. Rainbows like that friend who took my kids for an afternoon so I could catch up on housework. Rainbows like a hug from a preschool friend at just the right time. Rainbows like a friend who took every Tuesday off to take me to chemotherapy appointments. Rainbows like a day-trip to a baseball game with my adult sons. Rainbows like a peaceful Saturday spent with my husband. I could go on and on, but you know what I’m talking about and can fill in your own.

That day in preschool I learned something profound. Life is all just tornadoes and rainbows. Embrace them. The tornadoes help you grow, the rainbows give you peace. Without the tornadoes, you won’t appreciate the rainbows.