Are you missing the magic?

Hey friends!!

The other day I was nannying, & per usual - children grow me & humble me in the best of ways.

My little kiddos were still napping, & I was trying to fit as much as I could into their 2ish hours of naptime. I swept & did the dishes, had a quick zoom meeting for my internship, wrapped up a school assignment, and was writing an important email when my 6-year-old kiddo arrived home from school.

I hugged her & got her a snack. She sat at the kitchen table & I kept typing, internally trying to gather my scattered thoughts. She was intently telling me about something that happened at school that day, and I kept telling her, “just a moment, honey”. She sat there, offering me much more patience than I deserved, and happily & quietly continued to tell me her story. I was too distracted, & finally shut my laptop, email unsent. I gave her my full attention, moving from my laptop to sit at the table next to her. As I smiled at her, offering my full attention, expressing being present with her was more important than the email, her blue eyes brightened & her nose crinkled into her signature smile. She marched through her story with more enthusiasm, & I joined in asking questions & exclaiming at the little things that had left an impression on her. We continued to talk, jumping from one story to the next, & as I heard the little kiddos waking up from their naps, we were laughing together. I almost let the stress of packing in tasks during naptime eclipse the joy of magic smiles & stories & togetherness. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t finished my email before school & naptime was over. I could have finished my email while she ate her snack, & gotten the littles up & continued moving through our day. And instead, we got to stop & enjoy that little magic moment together. My email could wait, & the joy of the little people right in front of me didn’t need to.

This season of life feels particularly full. I’ve grown to really despise the sentiment of being “busy”, so, please appreciate my “full” days. To give you a glimpse, we were chatting with a couple at church recently that we hadn’t seen in a while, and my fiancé replied to the question of how we were doing with; “We’re doing well. Getting lots wedding planning tasks done, & figured we might just do everything at once, so Bri is finishing a degree, we’re remodeling a house, we’re still working full time, & attempting to stay involved with family and friends”. We have very ‘ full’ days, as do many of us in this fast paced society. We are pretty social, & for the most part choose to structure our lives so full, & in the midst of that, we do look forward to seasons of life that hold less activity as well. And truly, no matter where you are at in life - there’s always work & people & tasks demanding your attention. You probably have stress-filled, ‘full’ days as well.

I recently told a friend over coffee, “You know, this fall, life is gonna slow down. I’ll be married, graduated, & I’ll have time for all the things.” She laughed as we looked at our jam packed calendars at the end of our coffee date - “Slow down?! Babe, this is a lifestyle, it will just be the next thing in the fall. You’ll always be busy.” And in reality, that’s pretty true, this friend knows me well, & sees my heart for people & pursuing all the things. So if that’s how I’m choosing to live my life, I also want to be seeking to glorify God with my heart motives & find opportunities to praise Him along the way.

In hurried & stressful moments, are you finding opportunities of joy & gratitude? Do you have little magic moments that happen between the stressful ones?

At the end of our days, we often ask each other for highlights & lowlights - I’m often surprised that our highlights tend to simply be the two minute conversation with a coworker, the sunrise view on a commute, or the fact that the toddler I cared for said a new word today. For us, the magic often lies in those simple & mundane moments.

I’m not saying that every moment needs to be nuanced into some deeper meaning, but simply that a whole lot of those ordinary moments have more joy than we are giving them credit for. I could have simply shared with you that I like to stop & smell the flowers, but I shared this story from my nanny day to tell you that finding the magic really is possible. I often use the excuse that life’s too busy, that right now; I can’t slow down & enjoy the little things. But what if we spent all our time saying, “oh, in the next season of life I’ll slow down, or enjoy that aspect of life, or nurture that relationship, or explore that interest.” Would it ever happen? Would you just endlessly be waiting till your kids were the ‘right’ age to enjoy them, or till you got a promotion & were making your ideal salary, or until you were out of an apartment & into a house? Even in stressful or hard seasons, I can almost guarantee you that you could find a magic moment or two in your day.

The things demanding our stress, time, & attention are endless friends. Don’t let the busyness of life, lack of contentment, or stress of the season steal your joy.

Stop. Close the laptop. & Smile at your 6-year-old. Experiencing the magic of the moment is worth it.

Thanks for reading - such a joy to have you along as I learn! :)

Okay book recommendation because I cruise through a few books a week & am always excited to share my latest read!! Though this doesn’t exactly touch on my main point of today’s blog post, it’s related, & fantastic regardless!

“When Strivings Cease” by Ruth Chou Simons

This book shows our dependency on God’s grace & ability to rest in His freedom as we abide in His truth, rather than the societal demand for approval or earned love. I adore this author, & she has a few fantastic books out there along with amazing artwork. You may recognize her name from starting the company, “GraceLaced.”

Check it out - one of my favorite reads this year!!

Bye for now, friends!!