Blessings: Pauses (Day 24, 25, 26)
Verse to ponder: And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Mark 6:31
It has been a semi-rough weekend. Friday, Baby Diva decided to force me to the couch and basically bedrest as I dealt with strange and very regular cramps and contractions. That caused me to really PAUSE. Normally, I’m going a mile a minute; but starting Friday, I was forced to take a step back and just be.
Luckily, my mom was able to come hang with me Friday so I didn’t have to move. I was able to take a nap (glorious!) and then rest while she did lunch and dinner for the boys. Without her, I don’t know what I would have done. I don’t say enough how lucky I am to have her so close.
Saturday, we took the boys to the Animal’s first ever birthday-party-for-a-friend. Thank goodness Aaron was able to come. Had he not been there, I would have probably gone into another day’s worth of regular contractions. And at just over 32 weeks, I don’t want to see Baby Diva too soon (as much as I’m ready to meet her) nor be put on required bed rest. So, after the party, I took another nap. This time, I allowed myself to take it in my bed — if I take a nap in there, I usually pass out completely and sleep really hard. It’s one reason I usually nap on the couch. I don’t want to lose too much of my day. Because apparently, pausing is not in my nature. But yesterday, I let myself sleep for over two hours. And even after Aaron came in to see if I was going to keep sleeping, I just kept on. Again, glorious.
Today, we finally made it to church. The boys are finally not so sick that we’re afraid of passing the nasties on to the others in the church. So we went. And it was so great. Flash decided he needed to shake everyone’s hand during the passing of the peace. And then he started doling out hugs. And that was precious.
Even church itself was a moment of pause. I didn’t take my cell phone, so I wasn’t tempted to look and check on Facebook. Instead, I engaged with my amazing Sunday School class, laughed over our children’s silly ways, planned service for our church, watched my boys be boys in church, and held my husband’s hand after the kids went to Children’s Church.
How do you allow yourself to pause? Do you feel as refreshed as I do when you finally give yourself that opportunity?
