Welcome to Day 11 of 31 Ways to Embrace Lopsided Living!
Do you ever get frustrated or tired of the season you’re in?
Of course you do! We all do. My sixteen-year-old daughter is ready to graduate from high school and start college.
Scott and I teach the college and career Sunday school class at our church … and all of the young adults in our class are ready to be done with college and start “real life.”
The singles want to be married. The young married want kids. The moms of newborns want sleep. The parents of toddlers long for the days with no more diapers. And on and on it goes …
Until you get the moms of high school seniors who are longing for more time with their children to be at home.
Let’s face it — there’s almost always something deeply appealing about whatever season of life we aren’t in.
It’s why parents with grown children look at moms struggling with diaper bags and say, “Enjoy this! One day you’ll miss it.” This is another way Lopsided Living offers us freedom —
Embrace the Season You’re In
This doesn’t mean we have to love everything about infants who don’t sleep, toddlers who don’t eat, ten-year-olds who don’t shower, sixteen-year-olds who don’t listen.
It doesn’t mean we can’t look forward to the day when we’re married or the day when we hold our first grandchildren.
It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pursue opportunities for the future or make plans for retirement.
Instead, embracing the season we’re in gives us the ability to be grateful for the past, intentional about the future, and enthusiastic about the present. Far too often, we get lost in our fond recollections of where we’ve been or we find ourselves worried about what could happen in the future. When this happens, we miss out on what God is doing in, through, and around us today.
As we pursue this purposefully unbalanced life, we must be intentional about not allowing the joy of the past or the fear of the future to keep to dampen or diminish the beauty of our lives today.
Today’s simple way to embrace lopsided living is also an exercise in finding joy in the everyday.
MAKE A LIST OF THREE THINGS YOU ARE LOVING ABOUT THE SEASON OF LIFE YOU’RE IN RIGHT NOW.
Think about what things are unique to this season and what you’ll miss when it’s passed. For me, the first one that comes to mind is waking Casiday up in the mornings. She’s a junior in high school and the days of her living in our home will come to an end, probably far sooner than I’d prefer. Every morning when I slip into her room and pull the covers off her head and whisper, “Casiday, it’s time to get up,” I know this season is coming to an end and I want to treasure these days while they last.
#LopsidedLiving is a choice not to get so lost in the past or the future we miss what God is doing today! Share on XWhat about you? What is it that is uniquely awesome about the season you’re in right now?
Living lopsided,
Teri Lynne
Yesterday’s post: Adding anything affects everything.
Coming tomorrow: Be where you are.
Index to every post in this series here.
We’re in a tough season in some ways … my daughter had surgery a couple of weeks ago and is in a body cast for six weeks. Thankfully we are halfway done. Not to mention expecting #4 in the next couple of weeks. Three things I am thankful for in this season:
– Parents and in-laws that are here and able to help with all three kids
– Early morning snuggles with my middle boy who makes his way into our bed in the early morning most nights
– My baby’s (17 month old) giggles and how he knows he is just so funny
There is so much that I love during this season even in the midst of all of the tough things. Today is one of my favorites of your posts so far in this series.
Danica, I will be praying for your family, I can’t even imagine!
And thank you for your kind encouragement! What a blessing to me today!!
Teri Lynne