This time of year it can be so easy to choose to look past our blessings and fall prey to comparisons, regrets, and if onlys. Christmas and Hanukkah can be such a time of comparisons and it is entirely too easy to focus outward instead of inward. Our daily lives are filled with images of “more than you have should be your goal”…and little of “Thank God for all that I have!”
A year ago Dh and I had just buried my father, we were home sad hearted, living in the city, and thinking we’d probably not get to move to our beloved dream of a little house in the country for many more years. We have a desire to live in a debt free home, to live more simply, and to make more time for outdoor and outside activities now that we’re fifty. Our dream was to be able to find a small, frugal place that we could afford to pay cash for, to transition from our home in the city to a place nearby in the country, and to downsize as we went. Not very glamorous compared to many of my friends whose dreams were to build bigger, grow grander financial lives, but very much our goal.
Fast forward a year later, we’re living in a little home on 3 acres about six miles from the town we lived in before. We’ve spent nine months renovating as we went and living in it while we worked. We’ve had more challenges than I can begin to count, but I will also say that the biggest one has not been the house, it’s been acknowledging that too often I am easily caught up in feelings that my dreams are not “up to par.”
Silly isn’t it.
Our family loves to be home, our needs are simple, we enjoy each other, time together, and putting this little brown house together. It’s often a messy process, as I type today there is an ongoing war with the current project of the week: trim was installed in the living room yesterday. That thrills me, delighted that Dh took the day to install it for me, not so thrilled to be cleaning up the cuttings, the sawdust, and the mess that the installation created. However, $600 is still in our pockets and we’re both proud of that!
Enoughness. What are your dreams made of? What moments do you seek in our life? For me it’s peace, it’s fellowship with folks who are kind and live to be good stewards of that which they are given. It’s about finding a routine that allows for work AND fun, laughter and labor. What makes the best parts of your daily life? For me I enjoy quiet moments by our fireplace, having a hot meal prepared for my husband and family when they arrive home from their days. I love working with my clients on their businesses and web development from our home office. I adore gathering friends and feeding them here at the house. My dreams include having a lovely home though I am a total messy, it seems my continual lesson in how to keep a home is in session…I’m not earning passing grades on consistency by the way!
What do you dream of? What do you truly seek in your life? Is there a vacation you dream of, a situation you strive for? What do your dreams look like? This season of Christmas I am working on identifying and living daily more of mine. As in THIS day. You see, I realized too many of the things I was involved in, too many of the choices I made, were really based on what I thought I “should do” not what I personally would like to live, sooner than later. Scary stuff to tell the truth. So this Christmas I’m taking a heart break…time to listen each day as I pray and simply listen…and slowly, it’s becoming a daily part of my life to reflect on the life I am living and listening to what I dream of….and more and more at the end of the day I realize I lived that moment at some point in the day…the life I dreamed of. It doesn’t look like what I thought it might once upon a time, but the joy that it brings to stop and realize our blessings, to live simple joys, to engage in small things daily that align to the life I wanted to live…well…it’s my best Christmas gift this year to myself.
I hope your dreams of your daily life start coming true too!
