Lessons Learning.

"No man can live without joy." ~ Thomas Acquinas

 One of my most favorite quotes...

My every day - always and forever - reminder.  And...a gift from Ransom.

And so, these days...when I have never been more tired in my life ~ with a newborn and three active Hoolies, a garden growing, and a house to keep "show ready" for whenever the Realtor calls...

I have also never been more full...
Or more thankful, really.

Little boy adventures in which Mama gets to tag along.

I think I am learning the secret of contentment.
Learning....I have not yet fully learned....
But, I am growing...

Naps in the woods.  Love-o-ly.

Joy and fullness are not found in things...
And they don't happen with possessions accumulating.
Contentment doesn't come from closed fist gripping...or from an unwillingness to step out in faith.

I know these things to be true.

Camp coffee.  Over a game of Cribbage - in which I win - even better.

Joy comes from letting go...
And from holding loosely.

Summer at its finest.

It comes from actively choosing to find sacred amidst much chaos.
And from putting trust and faith in the Only One who knows the end of the story, anyway...

"milk drunk."  One of my favorite things.

And it often comes when we find ourselves to be at the end of ourselves....when we feel completely out of control....or when relationships seem to be imploding - or exploding, for that matter...  It comes when something is too big and too crazy to be able to handle on our own....and so we just give it over....and give it up...to the One who is in control...

Camp coffee with a hint of "smoke."  Even better.

I'm seeing this lived out in grand scale version with family and friends who are walking deep valleys right now.  And I'm learning this in my own life -- with my "small scale" versions of not being in control.

And I am finding that it's actually an okay place to be.

One of my five greatest gifts and sources of joy.  Right here.

It's not so scary to not know what the future holds....when we know Who holds the future.
It's not as hard to not feel great physically...when we know the Great Physician.
And it doesn't hurt so much when loved ones walk away...when we know Who they ultimately belong to.

Two more of them.

And, at least for me anyway - if I can keep the perspective that this world is not my home...
And we are truly just passing through...
If I can remember that God is in control...
And that He is God...and I am not...

And the last two.  Right here.

Then, I can find so much joy in the journey....
And life becomes an adventure.

Making roads and tunnels.  Playing "carths" with Daddy.  His most favorite thing.

 I remember "why" I am here in the first place...
My idea of "perfection" flies out the window....and I am entirely okay with that.
When things don't go down the way I think they should....I find it easier to let them go.
When people hurt us or throw things in our face...we can show grace and love.
And with proper perspective, people...not things....will take pre-eminence.

Fishing.  Kaden's most favorite thing.

When loved ones die - we know we will see them again.
Or when they walk away -- we can trust the One who knows the story's End.
When we struggle down here - with sickness or pain -- we know that one day that will all pass away.
When we let go of things and of "stuff" -- we know that so much more waits for us one day.

"And we can mount up with wings like eagles....We can run and not grow weary.  We can walk and not be faint...Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength."

A promise we can cling to.
A promise we can claim.