There used to be a gas commercial that had this saying "Life: It's what happens between empty and full." I was just reminded of it this evening...I've had such an amazing day of teaching, some not so pleasant moments of kids doing what they choose to do instead of what I ask but they were small in comparison with this: some ecstatic moments of discovering right along with the kids, those little special moments when a kiddo comes up and gives me a hug and says "I'm beautiful!" or they tell you something that's an "AHA!" moment for them. It was a FULL type of day.
I also got to see a good friend I hadn't seen in quite a while. Spending just 10 minutes with them talking was enough to re-charge me til the next time we see each other! It was a FULL type of friend day -- laughing with other teaching friends, staying in touch with friends via email, getting emails from blog friends about my gratitude list and my situation with David. I'm still contemplating calling Lisa (from the Food Pantry!) even though it's late and asking her out for a cup of coffee, just to get another friend fix and COFFEE! :)
But life has definitely happened today! I know I can't always be full and I have to do the unpleasant tasks of cleaning the house, scooping the poop, doing the grocery shopping, figuring out college bills for Ian, looking for the matched socks (that one's for you, Mary!), worrying about the broken down car (even though it's covered by insurance) and other little nit-noid thing that is in this game of life.
Empty, however, is easy to get into when you forget to fill up with positive stuff and you start running on fumes. I continue to learn this lesson lots. My biggest lesson was about 5 yrs ago when life was the absolute pits with work, MS, church situation, friends, etc. There was no full. And it took the help of Dr. Wonderful to drag me back to the "go juice" station to even begin to register into life again. Last May was the same thing but I had learned some tools to get myself out of the empty spot & at least get a few gallons of "go juice!" A few things that continue to empty me -- financial difficulties that keep me awake at night, David's work situation and his own emptiness at the moment, my relationship with my dad who lives in the Phillipines and who recently sent me a pretty candid letter, the wonderings of 'who I am' and 'what do I have to offer'? I search a lot and come up empty.
Thankfully, the Lord knows it all. I read this morning in Psalm 56:3 "For when I am afraid, I will put my trust in You!" I've taken time to "be still" and recharge. Those times even include taking naps and knowing that it'll be okay when I open my eyes again.
Life...it's what happens between empty and full!! Thank you for helping me stay out of EMPTY!
4 comments:
Yes we do need to recharge sometimes. This was a beautiful post. Thanks for sharing the Psalms verse...I am such a worrier I need verses like this to remind me to Be Still and to trust.
Thanks for visiting me yesterday.
Have a Blessed Weekend.
Sherry
What a great word, Kerri!
"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and how long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
-Ephesians 3:14-19
Love, Melissa
I am so glad you came by and visited me on my blog. If you hadn't I wouldn't of been blessed by these words you shared here in this post! So I thank you so much for sharing. This new season is so full of so many different emotions right now. My mom and dad read my blogs all the time and from time to time my dad will send me an email. He'd responded to my taking time off blog and sent me the most incredible verses and information about the Jews... Here is part of what he wrote me that I found so interesting....
I just thought you might like to know that taking the Sabbath year off was a thing that the Jews apparently never did. If you think about it, it was very hard for them to do. They could not plant or reap, pretty scary when your whole society was based on agriculture. And you had to give everyone their property back. Thus the land sold for less and less every year the closer you got to the 7th year, it would have been sold on the basis of how many crops years it had left before it was given back to its original owner.
In Jer. 25:8–11; 29:10 God tells Israel that it will be sent into Babylonian in exile for seventy years. In 2 Chronicles 36:20,21 He explains that one of the reasons was so that the land could "enjoy its Sabbaths." It was about 500 years from the law until the exile and there is no record anywhere that the Jews ever observed the sabbath year, until God forced them out of the country. Sometimes we can get so busy that we don't stop to enjoy the rest that He grants us, I know that you will, cause with you and Dave there is always a Starbucks, fruit stand, fish market or other fun place to stop along the way. Me, I'm the other way, always rushing to get where I planned. I think your way is much better, maybe some day it will rub off on me. LOL
I thought this was so interesting. I added you to my side bar and will come visit with you again...I am looking forward to reading your other blogs and tagging along.
You don't live to far from me either,I am in Seattle..so you now have a new Latte friend in Seattle...the land of ever flowing coffee!...lol
Blessings,
Chris =O)
I loved your post. I don't think God has promised us an easy journey but he did promise we wouldn't have to make the journey alone, ever. Recharging is something women forget to do and it's so important.
You asked about Photo Hunt. No, I didn't post because I couldn't find anything in my files or imagination that inspired me and said "warm".
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