Stealing Back Peace

By all accounts, I'm a fairly busy person.

I'm a mom. I could stop right there...it's a full-time job, 24/7, it's all the things you've heard and probably more.

However, I then have quite a few other things going on, including part-time working from home for Ballet San Jose, and a few entrepreneurial pursuits including crocheting made-to-order toys for children and teaching private in-home music classes for toddlers. I've got playdates with Las Madres and also with a group I started for the church mamas.

I'm also a pastor's wife and Worship Lead at Dwell Christian Church in Willow Glen. We just moved into a large house with friends this past weekend, so my life is still in boxes that I'm frantically trying to eradicate.

Like I said...busy!

I try to set aside some time every day to be quiet, to read God's word, to contemplate the mysteries of the universe He created, and to send up small prayers like Anne Lamott's two essentials ("Help me, help me, help me!" and "Thank you!"). It's not much. Nothing like the herculean things I used to try to do in college like get up early before class and do an hour of prayer and bible reading every day...seemed small to me then...boy do times change!

So many things can come along and "steal" the peace I feel when I just stop and take time to be with my God. So sometimes, I have to "steal" it back. I have to steal moments early in the morning by sitting my kid in front of a Signing Time DVD for half an hour while I gulp coffee and hungrily read a few chapters of scripture. I have to steal some quiet in the afternoon while he (thankfully!) naps between eating a bit and doing work for the Ballet to recharge after a morning of play dates and averting mini-disasters.

Yesterday I let the dog and the kid outside to play, brought a kitchen chair out on the deck and did my coffee/bible thing there, listening to the birds and huddling against the chilly breeze. It didn't actually feel overly peaceful at the time, but I prayed a "Help me!" sort of prayer for the day, and indeed, peace followed.

As I follow God, peace follows me, and I am eternally grateful.

"There's a peace I've come to know/ though my heart and flesh may fail.
There's an anchor for my soul/ I can say 'It is well'."- Chris Tomlin, "I Will Rise"

PS While I was Googling "anne lamott two prayers" to remember what they were, I came upon this blog, "There Are No Ordinary Moments", and was struck by how similar her story in this post sounded to my experiences. You might take a moment to read it. Also, apparently Anne Lamott has come out with a new book entitled Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers ... I really like that third one, actually. It's like petition, thanksgiving and worship, all in three little one-word prayers!