On Saturday my husband and I spent the day doing our annual spring ritual of putting up the screens on the garage, turning it into a summer room. This involves total garage and shed emptying and cleaning. I enjoy the way my husband and I go about this, working in perfect tandem with each other all day. Music on and vacuum cleaner going, we share cleaning supplies, brooms, and tools in rhythm with each other, pausing now and then for easy conversation about our dreams of future projects around our home. At five o’clock we step back and admire our work, shower, and head for our favorite seafood place.I love our days spent this way together. Over the course of 35 years and three homes, we have spent many weekends in this way. My soul derives great peace from days such as these.
My husband’s project of choice for Sunday was resurrecting the grill. It was too cold outside for me to hang around and help with that, so I found myself in the basement going through at least twenty plastic storage bins, getting ready for my spring garage sale. I want to do the girls’ room over, but every time I do over another room, I have to have a garage sale to earn the money to do it. It was quiet work, where I could let tears flow over a difficult situation I have no control over. One that causes deep pain in my heart daily. I was telling God how I felt as I worked. While going through one daughter’s mementos, I came across an Angel of Patience figurine. Just the way she sat with her knees folded in close, evoked a peace in my troubled heart. Once again, I no sooner uttered my prayer and God puts just what I needed in my hand. I took her upstairs and set her by my rocking chair where I could see her every morning.
Today I didn’t go to yoga, or anywhere else for that matter. I wanted to be alone and continue in silence on my garage sale project. I spent the morning carrying the bins up from the basement to the garage. After lunch I set up shelving, opened all the bins and set up my little “store”. It was quiet, methodical work.
Sometimes when we’re wrestling with difficulties, we can think too much, reason to much, figure out too many solutions, – we can even pray too much- until God places His hand on our shoulder and says, “Stop, my child, I got it covered. Go on with your work.” I found that sometimes our minds need to rest, our hearts need to quiet, and our hands need to work.
It has been three days of quiet, healing work. I love my Angel of Patience. I especially love the way her hand curls pensively under her chin. She calms my heart and mind and reminds me to sit quiet while God does what he needs to do; to go on with my work and rest my spirit for awhile.
If you find yourself wrestling, find some quiet work to ease yourself into and step away for a bit. Give your Higher Power a chance to speak. Give the universe a chance to move around and in you.
And so, as another day goes by, God wHispers to me once again, giving me what I need, and …I have written.
Love this piece, Linda! 🙂
Reminds me of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God…”
Shirley