S T R E T C H

2: to reach out : extend

If you've read much of this blog, you know I've been in a season of what I'll call pre-growth. I know a change is coming in the fall when K starts Kindergarten and I'll have all of my daughters in school. What I haven't known is what awaits me after that bend in the road. I still don't know, but I have noticed lately that I feel encouraged to stretch my own limits. At one time, this would have been terrifying, and, let's be honest, it still is slightly terrifying. But I'm finding that it's slightly exhilarating as well.

I find I'm more willing to listen to my Spirit when it tells me to do something outside of my comfort zone and that the results when I do are mostly encouraging. If nothing else, I am finding I can do things I would never have believed myself capable of. In the last few weeks, I've offered to lead a women's retreat, I've created a collage about what feeds my soul and I've actually taken time to feed my soul.

These may not seem like large steps, but surely you would agree that they are steps. In fact, I think the last step I named may be the most important one. I was out with friends last night and we talked, in part, about what our children need and want from our time. I know my children desire more of my time and attention than I give them, but I also believe they are self-sufficient, independent, free thinkers because I do not lead them with a heavy hand. I try to give them ownership of their time and try to find ways to interact with them without stifling their creativity. I could do a better job of engaging with them individually and making time to just sit with them. But I also have come to realize that it's OK for me to sit alone and just be.

In fact, if I take time to feed myself first - by reading while I drink my morning coffee, or blogging before I pick them up from school - then I can extend myself further for them and to them.

This newfound focus on nurturing myself is, in large part, what I want to talk about when I speak at the women's retreat. I think women in general, and mothers in particular, are easily swept along in the day to day. We don't even know what we're missing by failing to take quiet moments to look for and look into the face of God. We don't realize how nourished we would be by what we will see there. By stretching my limits, I hope I can communicate just a small fraction of that to other women.

So, spring is here and I am blooming right along with the trees... right before your very eyes!