A few weeks ago on her podcast, The Next Right Thing, Emily P. Freeman shared 10 things that are saving her life right now.
I loved the simple way she flipped the script. It’s easy to list the things that are driving us crazy, or the ways we are so crazy-busy. We tend to hold those things like they are a badge. It’s a little harder to look at our lives with the lens of what’s saving our life right now. But it’s encouraging and life-giving.
I began looking for those things in my current crazy season, and I want to share them with you.
The first thing that is saving my life right now is taking a few minutes after I take the kids to school to sit down with a cup of coffee and read one entry of Heart Aflame by John Calvin. These are daily readings from the writings of John Calvin on the Psalms. The book begins with January 1, but I’m being a little rebellious and started it in March. At the beginning. The devotions are less than a page long, and I write a little prayer in the space at the bottom of each page. It has been a great way to begin each day setting my mind on truth.
The second thing that is saving my life right now are green spaces. I don’t really know why but driving past green pastures and rolling hills makes me happy and peaceful.
The third thing is breaking my to do list into smaller, bite-sized pieces. I tend to get overwhelmed in the crazy-busy, and dividing tasks into smaller tasks keeps me from getting paralyzed and not getting anything done.
And the last thing that is saving my life right now is having one clean space in the house to sit in. I have piles of writing projects, end of the school year things, scrapbooks (any other Senior moms pulling out all the pictures, or is it just me?) Having one space clutter free gives me a place to start my morning (see number 1) and to have friends sit when they swing by.
Over the next few weeks this pace will morph into summer pace, which has a completely different feel. I want to keep up the practice of naming the things that are saving my life instead of focusing on the things that are keeping me busy. It helps me appreciate and savor moments of peace in the middle of the chaos.
What about you? What is saving your life right now?