Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Day by Day

Ah, growth. You can't force it. You CAN try to provide the most optimum conditions, but in the end, you must simply let growth happen. Things grow because that is how they are designed.


Remember my little green buddy from the last post? Here's how he looks today:
That's pretty much a photo of me . . .broadening, stretching, not yet fully unfurled.

My Big Plan for 2010--daily work on my cluttered house, and daily energetic movement of my body--has continued to NOT go according to my rigid and humanly perfectionistic plan. And I guess I'm glad, 'cause I've had my fill of impossible expectations.

What I HAVE done, since the last post, is walk outside in City Park. Three hard-and-fast round trips past my favorite stretch of creek works out to exactly 30 minutes. And all the family memories of time spent in this place are able to be lovingly thought of. That's real progress.



And regarding a relationship, I gathered courage and prayed real hard and talked to a friend about stuff that I thought he would get mad about and walk out over. He didn't. We had a wonderful hour-and-a-half of honest, loving discussion. I considered that a minor miracle and am still giving thanks for it.

When I knew he was coming over, and I knew I was praying for the gumption to tackle the difficult topic, I was too jittery to sit. In the midst of prayer, I could feel God leading me to get up and go upstairs. I went into this room.









In a little under two hours, I had THIS room.
















I'd had no conscious intention to tackle that area, or even to work on the house at all that day. But God showed me how I could take that "nervous energy" and let my hands work, even while my mind and heart were thinking and praying. Is the room anywhere near "done?" Oh my no. Is it improved? More importantly, is it at least minimally functional? Oh my yes.

So, I'm now 19 days into The Great Reveal of 2010. I'm tickled to see visual differences in the house. I'm pleased that I have walked inside in bad weather, and outside when the sidewalks allowed. And I'm peaceful, having felt God's tender touch and His quiet reassurance that yes, I am following His lead.
And my dear friends, how are you? Any new plans or projects you want to share? Are you finding new ways to let joy and love flow out of you?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am smiling so brightly at you my friend. :)

aquamaureen said...

ah . . . THANK you, Tabitha!!

A.Marie said...

YAY for positive changes! You are totally inspiring me to tackle a room in MY upstairs that is definitely needing some de-cluttering...UGH! I know I can do it, because YOU did it!!

YAY, also, for the walk. That is something I struggle with also. What IS so hard about a daily walk? Why can't I ever seem to find the time??!

I love your little green buddy..his little leaves are sooo cute. He is stretching out and growing, putting his little "face" towards the life force known as the sun.

I am doing that more and more: putting my face towards my own life force "sun"...my Heavenly Father and HIS SON! :)

Sharon said...

What a difference 2 hours made!! I am proud of you! And I love you bunches!

aquamaureen said...

A.Marie--so good to hear from you, and I'm so happy my steps of forward movement are inspiring the same in you!! Let me know how that goes.

And re: the walk. I totally hear you on "finding" the time . . .I'm starting to feel it as God holding out His hand, inviting me to walk . . .

And yes, our faces ever seeking the light of the Light!! God, loving us through His Son . . Amen!! Have a blessed day.

And Sharon, I know . . .in less than two hours the room moved from having only a teeny pathway to my clothes closet, to being minimally functional as a work room. And most amazing was that my thoughts were still all churned up with this nervous energy, but my hands were still able to work on a separate task . . .much better than sitting in a chair, gnawing over thoughts .. :)

Anonymous said...

A place for everything and everything in its place...works for me