Finding Joy in the Small Delights...

                   
        Joy comes to us in ordinary moments.      
          We risk missing out when we get too
           busy chasing down the extraordinary.
                                                - Brene Brown

Hurrah!! Summer is here! My last day at the college was Tuesday, June 21st. Just as children are chomping at the bit to have school out, teachers feel the exact same way.

Piles and piles of papers graded, grades calculated, graduation attended...

Check!

Yet it takes my heart and body a good long while to adjust to not getting up at 3:30 am, dashing around, grading constantly, meeting with students, meeting with faculty...
the list goes on and on. 

I absolutely love being a teacher, yet it isn't an easy job. Most summers I have been consulting or in school staying up to speed on curriculum and professional development.

This summer it is time for a real break. One where I can find joy in the small delights.

Sometimes I miss those joys because they are a blur when I am going at mock speed.

It's also a time to catch up on all the things that could wait just a little longer...car appointments, dentist appointments,
and a slew of appointments for my beloved Bert.

Yet, since I am trying to slow down and appreciate the little things, summer calls to me and all of those appointments can still wait just a little longer...  :)

The feel of that warm summer sunshine, well it just permeates my heart. It begs me to play outdoors, take it all in.

This hasn't been an easy year, and I feel a bit tattered and torn. Somehow those sun rays feel like God's gentle touch on all that ails me.

Time for cloud gazing...
Gardening...
Book reading...
Baby playin'...
Prayers a sayin'...
Dinner makin'...
Walks a takin'...

And breathing in and out. Letting go of some of the hurts that keep my eyes a bit teary these days. A sadness that has crept into my heart. 

In the evening, as I swing on our vintage swing with my beloved and watch the stars at night, each swing...back and forth...soothes my weary soul.

Before going in, last night I cut some of our mint to put into ice tea, our chives for baked potatoes and basil to go into tonight's chicken dish. Just that simple act made me smile!
God's grace and provision at our finger tips. I can smell the mint even now as my fingers glide along this key board.

God's aromatherapy. 

Yes, it's the small delights that make me smile and feel like that giddy elementary girl released from the clutches of being in school. The school doors opened and we all escaped into summer time!


May the warm summer sun caress your heart and may you feel God's abundant grace in all of the small delights in your life!

God Bless!
Love, Linda