Tuesday, October 22, 2013

My Personal Eden

As I passed by a window in my living room, recently, I caught a glance of something that startled me.  I stopped to get a better look.  On our pond, I could see what seemed to be twinkling lights dancing merrily along the surface of the water.  I stood there confused; not knowing exactly what I was watching. Was God granting me some supernatural eye candy?? It was such a beautiful sight!  I moved to a different window to get a new perspective.  I saw what was really happening.  It was beginning to rain and from where I had been standing, the sunlight caught the rain drops in a way that made them look like diamonds when they hit the water's surface, but from where I now stood, it just looked like plain old rain.  I let out a chuckle at myself.  Had my husband been there, he would have said, "Darlene, it's rain.  Haven't you seen rain before?". In those few seconds, my eyes were opened to a life lesson.  Life is how I see it.  Now, I knew this before, but now I am experiencing it in a new way.  

As I write this, I'm sitting on my back porch, the sun warming my body, a light morning breeze is still moving across my skin and I hear the birds singing and chatting.  It's peaceful and still.  It heals my soul.  This is what I'm talking about.  Simple things.  They are coming to mean so much to me.  Don't get me wrong, I have quite a bit on my list of things to do today.  It's like that every day, so I am learning that if I want to have these quiet peaceful moments, I have to make time for them and just take them in small increments.  15 minutes will be better than nothing.  With each 15 minutes of solitude, comes a renewing, a peace, strength to continue, and "A ha!" thoughts of clarity.  I take these blissful escapes on my back porch, on my front porch, in the pathway to the pasture behind our house, even in my bathroom.  You are laughing right now, if you have been to my home.  I don't live in a place even closely resembling The Biltmore Estate or a grand mansion with acres and acres of extravagantly landscaped property.  There are weeds in the yard, a rusting shed in front of me and a toilet sitting on the porch next to me (bathroom remodel).  But from where I stand (sit) it's a beautiful picture.  If I move to a different spot, I see it in a different light.  I have been choosing more often than not, to look at the positive, to really take in the small things. Many small things make up the big things.  I'm breathing deeply.  I'm taking in the fall weather, my garden, the peaceful stream emptying into our pond, the white daisies from my friend, my husband's strong embrace and soft words, my first taste of pomegranates, the relaxing scent of lavender oil on my pillow.  God is so good to allow me these things that make up my personal Eden. I'm doing well...great actually.  Healing is coming from the inside out.  I'm learning much about healing.  I'll save that for another blog.