The transition into summer vacation was a breeze…or so I thought. This is the first school year that I am returning to the exact same classroom at the same school next year! I had spent every second of free time, at the end of the school year, cleaning out filing cabinets and organizing my storage spaces. I even had time to pack up ALL of the instruments in my classroom to make the custodian's cleaning job easier. I went into summer with school as the last thing on my mind. I was ready to relax and reset for next year!
Summer vacation started with me sleeping in, soaking in extra time of prayer, and having much needed quality time with my husband before he left for work. I was living in true summer bliss! It wasn't long into summer vacation when I received a call from my dad asking if I had plans for the rest of the week. They needed some extra help on the farm. The next morning I found myself waking up at 5:45 in order to get to the farm in time for morning chores. So much for sleeing in!
I poured myself a cup of to-go coffee and set off to the farm. I completed calf chores in less than two hours and made it back in time to hang out with Dylan before he left for work. I even snuck in a power nap! This went on for a few days and I decided this ‘modified’ summer routine was really working for me!
It was about three days into this schedule that I found myself feeling cranky. I figured it was just from waking up early or not drinking enough water. But after more reflection I realized I had completely neglected daily prayer. I was so used to praying first thing in the morning that when I left for the farm 10 minutes after my alarm, it never crossed my mind to circle back to my prayer corner when I returned home after chores.
God is not afraid to notify us when we have fallen or are heading in the wrong direction! So many times it is the thing or situation distracting us that God uses to reel us back in to Him.
A perfect example of God doing just that happened during morning chores over the weekend. When I got to the farm Saturday morning I began panicking after I noticed there was only 10 gallons of milk set aside to feed the calves. Given this time of year, and the number of calves born each day, 10 gallons was not enough to feed a third of the calves that needed milk. Because I had left the farm early the night before, one of the hired hands covered setting aside milk for the morning feeding. The hiccup happened when he read 30 gallons as 30 liters of milk….whoops!
I ended up adding the correct amount of milk to our calf pasteurizer and went off to do other chores while the milk warmed up. Unfortunately, 30 gallons of milk takes over 30 minutes to warm up so I had some down time to just sit and wait. I was unprepared for enduring such a time consuming setback.
Remembering how cranky I felt the day prior after I had neglected prayer, I used this as an opportunity to squeeze in my daily rosary. I counted the Hail Mary’s with my fingers as I leaned against the wall of the milk house and listened to the humm of the pasteurizer. The feelings of restlessness and urgency immediately left my body as I made my way through the rosary decade by decade. I finished the rosary and feeding the now warmed milk simultaneously.
Transitioning into new chapters/seasons of life are inevitable. The tricky part is remaining steadfast with our disciplines and not reordering our priorities.
Thank you Jesus for your continuous invitation in calling us back to your heart. Even if we wander a few days or a few years, you are ready to present opportunities to draw us back to you. I pray that we may remain faithful to Your goodness and aware of Your generosity. Amen!
Until Next Time~Your sister in Christ,
Abby
コメント