Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Letting Go and Turning Off

Prompt: Off

// My husband is blessed with the blissful gift of being able to turn his brain off and go to sleep minutes after lying down most nights. I, on the other hand, just turn out the lights to face all of my check-lists, questions, concerns, and anticipation in the dark. Usually the dark does nothing to improve upon these thoughts. 

I find myself getting more worked up, adrenaline kicking in, as I make plans and have lengthy conversations planned out just in case I should need to defend my mode of being to someone who operates differently. Usually I want to browse meaningless things on my phone or else to get up and work on one of the projects under construction in my brain. Sometimes I get up and write during those late, quiet hours when my creative juices start flowing.

But lately I’ve been learning to spend those long minutes (hours?) in prayer. Not so much for the things that are bothering me as for the many needs and concerns of people I know. Family members who are sad or lonely or grieving, friends who have big uncertainties in front of them, children I’ve never met and am unlikely to have any contact with who are suffering and need someone to love them. 

I take these things to the One who cares and my eyes are taken off myself, focused on this One who holds me and all the world, and given perspective as I consider others and their struggles and place in the world. In this way I settle more contentedly into my own place, trusting my Father who put me there, and I drift off… to a restful sleep. //


I am continuing on with my Write 31 Days theme of "31 Days to Slowing Down and Living More Simply" with reflections based on my reading of Emily P. Freeman's book Simply Tuesday and the prompts given at the FMFW page. My "Five Minute Free Write" portion will be enclosed with // and any extra thoughts will follow.





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