The World Looks Different But It's Ok

Well, I finally broke down this evening.

I was doing so good keeping it all together! (or so I thought...)

I've spent the last 10 days pretty much how many other American homemakers spent theirs: taking stock of my supplies, running out for provisions, growing more and more concerned over the lack of toilet paper, and thinking about how to navigate a new normal. It's amazing the evolution that "normal" has taken in just 10 days. At least for me, I've gone from "Hmm...well this is new" to "Dear me, how strange" to "I'm not sure how to respond to this" to "Is this really happening?" to "Whoa. This is really happening."

Tonight I had just had it. I'd spent the week trying to keep everything just how it should be. Spinning all the plates. Dotting all the "i"s and crossing all the "t"s. I was trying to make things not different. Truth is---everything is different. 

For our family, things are different in a better way. My husband's job as a computer programmer within the shipping industry is a double-whammy of secure. If our world stops needing programmers or stops needing shipping/distribution, we're gonna see a MUCH bigger issue than we have now. So having Daddy working from home and having all our busy schedules erased is probably the greatest thing that could happen to us. At least for now. We are financially secure and have an abundance of all we need. (We even found toilet paper today---score!)

However, there are so so many who are struggling on all levels, and this is where my freakout came into play today. I keep thinking of things we could be doing to be a blessing to others while still abiding by the new calls for social distancing. (Well, sort of. Right now I have four teenagers over that aren't mine...but they're here enough that they might as well be mine. AND our family already breaks the 10 or less rule anyway so...) If I wasn't so worried about trying to maintain normal in my home, we could be taking time off to write letters to people we know who don't have a gaggle of housemates to share this time with. I could be writing encouraging devotionals or sharing information on my blog to help others become less dependent on this fast-paced, drive-thru satisfaction sort of world that's come to a halt. Not to mention all the things we could be doing around the house like decluttering and listing things for sale online to the whole world who have suddenly become online shoppers by default. Most of all, I would have time to look outside my happy cottage in the forest and respond to a hurting world. God is allowing things to be different right now. I want to find out why.

I've spent the last 10 days fighting so hard for normal and it's really a losing battle. The world is different now. For me, this time is a gift and a ministry opportunity. For others, this time is scary and heartbreaking and chaotic. Life looks different now. It may be for a short time---it may be the new normal. Enough has already changed for some that life will never look the same. No matter how long it lasts, I don't want to be afraid to embrace the different and see what God will do in this time. Maybe He's writing a new normal for me that will be better than anything I could ever imagine.

What is your biggest concern right now? I'd love to remember you in prayer if you'd like to comment below.

Blessings!

Sarah

Our Visit to Harvest Lane Cottage to see Mrs. Laura Lane

Hello friends! Welcome to the Homemaking Party!

Have you ever met someone and immediately felt comfortable---like you'd been friends for so long, or even family? Mrs. Laura Lane and I had been "blogging friends" for several years before finally meeting in person about three years ago. We were instant friends and have had the opportunity to get together several times since then.

Last Friday, Lynzie and I had the chance to spend the day with Mrs. Laura and her youngest daughter (who also became fast friends with Lynzie) at their Harvest Lane Cottage in SW Missouri. We shared a lovely lunch together and had a good chat. We even worked on a couple crafty projects---she knitting and me fussy cutting. The younger girls chatted up a storm and then took off for a coffee/tea run and a photo shoot in a nearby park.

Mrs. Laura made this fantastic chocolate sheet cake with homemade boiled icing. Wow---it was so delicious! Look how pretty her dishes are, too. What a special treat! 

After spending almost six hours with the Lanes, Lynzie and I headed downtown to visit our favorite antique shop in town. Mrs. Laura lives in a beautiful historic town with so many gorgeous Victorian and early Edwardian homes. We were snapping photos all up and down the streets! We love the fabulous downtown court house, the most. It's like a castle towering over the square!

I love finding bits of hidden architecture here and there. This painted tin or copper paneling peeked at me from a narrow passageway. There are so many beautiful things to see if we take the time!

Thanks so much for stopping by the Homemaking Party! I've missed my friends! 

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Linking with:

Homemaking Party @ Classical Homemaking

Grandma's House DIY
Party in Your PJs
Whims Wednesday
Wonderful Wednesday @ Eclectic Red Barn
Vintage Charm
Wonderful Wednesday
Creative Muster

Peace: My Goal for 2020

Little Women, Chapter 38

Are you the type of person to make a New Year resolution? I am. I love to spend the last couple days of the year contemplating my plans for the upcoming one: sorting through my "to be read" shelf to decide what books I will prioritize next, dreaming about how I can avoid the same old mistakes in this new year, coming up with that one word that will define the next 12 months of my life. Yep, I'm an optimist and I'm a word girl.

All this was much easier to do when all of my children were little and I was completely in charge of every schedule. Now that I've got two adults and three more teens behind those, (and four more littles behind those)! I've often got to work around their schedules of work, lessons, ministry, volunteer work, social life, and more. My word for the year of "intentional" or "just say no" or whatever gets lost in the busyness of accommodating other people's schedules.

Being sick the last few months taught me a lot of really valuable lessons. One thing I learned was how to find peace when life doesn't go the way I want it to. It could have been SO much worse, but I did miss a lot of special times with my family this past season. As I watched many of our usual Fall and early Winter traditions pass by with me too sick to make them happen, I had to choose between being resentful or being at peace. I had to find peace in not putting up all my usual Christmas decorations, in not making out my Christmas cards this year, in skipping our annual bonfire and hayride, in missing the night our family goes to look at lights on the town square.

I had to be very careful about ordering my days because I had just a bit of energy each day to spend on the most important things. In order to keep my home and family peaceful, I chose to focus on basic housecleaning, meal prep, and schooling. This meant stepping down from worship team and missing most church services, skipping time out with friends and staying off social media sometimes, dropping negative people from Facebook so I wouldn't dwell on stressful things, and generally turning my mind and heart inward to home to make sure I was providing the best atmosphere here.

All that is what I want this new year to be (without the sickness part, of course). I want to make the best choices that will keep my home peaceful. Some of the changes I made during that down time will remain permanent. As I enter 2020, I enter the decade that will bring the biggest changes to my life yet. Lord willing, by 2030, I will have eight adults and a graduate. I will be 50 years old. I will probably be a grandmother.

These next 10 years can be super crazy and super hard---or they can be positive times of peaceful change. Much of that depends on me and the atmosphere I create in my home. I'm not afraid to say no to good things in order to do the best things. I'm not afraid to upset someone with a choice they don't understand. Peace at all costs! Ha! That will be my motto for 2020. What I learned during that down time was that peace can be had in all circumstances, if I am intentional about listening to the Prince of Peace and His daily direction for my ministry at home.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:28-29 (NKJV)