the Easter task

Like many of you, I’m constantly trying to find the balance between action and rest, between achieving and just be-ing, between praying and working. 

This was a balance I was searching for before the pandemic, but now, with our lives and routines and schedules completely upended, it’s like starting fresh in many ways. Only now with kids underfoot all. of. the. time. 

How do I homeschool? Cherish this time my kids? Inspire them? How do I stay connected to friends? Make time for writing? For exercise? For reading and learning? For cooking and cleaning…

…For quiet? 

For that deep, rich silence when suddenly you remember how small you are, and how big this world, and how close, so breathtakingly close, is God. 

Today after the groceries were bought, the bathrooms cleaned (they have been neglected), the workout done, and after I had wandered from one messy room to another wondering where to start, I felt the pull to just sit. So I made myself a smoothie and plopped down on the couch beside my 4 year old as he listened to Pete the Cat on the iPad.

And doesn’t it feel just so delicious to sit with no other intention than to sit? Sometimes I notice prayers bubbling up from somewhere inside me. Prayers that didn’t have a chance to surface in my busyness and preoccupation with all of the other “important” things. When I sit I hear my soul say, Be still! Take delight in Him! Let this moment be one where he lavishes you with love and your only task is a heart wide open.

Yesterday while I was raking the backyard I noticed a speck of purple in the pile of dried leaves and sticks I had just gathered into a pile. I picked it up and held the small, fragile crocus petal in my palm. Where had it come from? I scoured the part of the yard I had been raking and there it was, only visible when I was kneeling low, face planted almost in the dirt — a small patch of purple and green trying to poke through the yellow grass. I hadn’t even noticed anything was growing. 

What an image of how I often live my life. Too busy and distracted to notice what God is trying to grow right here in my midst. And in my rushing I stomp over the good things he is trying to do, and missing His quiet whispers, his gentle nudges, inviting me to take part in the task of making the world — His world — a garden once again. 

Let my soul be still. This is what I want for this weekend. To invite more quiet and stillness and reflection into these days that are to be treasured, remembered. Whether that’s during nap-times or show-times, early mornings or when the kids have fallen asleep and the sky has been painted pink. Let me make the time to draw near, to take delight, to kneel down and thank. 

He is calling me, and he is calling you. 

Come and let me show you the beautiful things we can create together! 

Happy Easter everyone:) 

xo Andrea