Joy in the Simple Things

-
I Have Found Joy in Simple Things
by Grace Noll Crowell

I have found joy in simple things
A plain clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof over my head,


And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.


I have found such joy in things that fill
my quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace

A potted plant upon my sill,
A rose fresh-cut and placed within a vase,


A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I have long loved beside me there.


As I'm packing up the bits and pieces of my life for a move, I realize that we don't have much in the way of fancy. No expensive furniture and most of what we own is hand-me-down or thrift shop finds. But there are a few precious things I have that while simple, bring me joy.

There is the china that my grandmother bought me at a thrift shop. The goblets a friend gifted me from her mother-in-law. Special little mementos from travels, or gifts from friends, as well as so many other little items.

I feel very unsettled at the moment as we pack and have already taken a truck load of items to the new house. I'm starting to feel disconnected and it's not a pleasant feeling. I kind of have this constant gnawing in the pit of my stomach and I realize that it's because moving is hard. 

I'm looking forward to getting settled once again and getting my house set up. We have found a nice apartment for Stephen and he will be moving in next Friday along with a friend. So there will be another little hole as he starts this "first."

While moving is never a fun task, I'm proud of myself because I've remained fairly calm through this process. Dan and I drove the 4 1/2 hours (actually took 5 1/2) to our new house on Wednesday. Dan drove the truck and I went in our car. We unloaded the truck with help from a couple guys from our new church. Then Dan and I went to dinner, picked up some things and went back to the house. I spent the evening doing some work there while Dan had a meeting. Then we drove an hour in a snowstorm to drop off the truck, spent the night at Dan's parents, picked up Emily from college along with her car and then drove two cars 3 hours home. Whew!

A simple life? Not at the moment! So I'm looking forward to getting settled and taking pleasure in the small things once again.

Comments

  1. LindaDecember 13, 2019 at 8:22 AM

    I read this and thought this a God adventure
    I truly want the very best for you and your family
    This church family will surely miss you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TerriDecember 13, 2019 at 8:41 AM

      Oh, it's definitely a God-adventure! Tiring but worth it. lol We will miss this church family as well. They've been good to us and we've developed close friendships.

      Delete

Post a Comment

I love your comments and encouragement! I can't always respond back but do read each comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Oh What to Do; I'm Sixty-Two!

-
Image
Today is my sixty-second birthday and it's hard to believe I've achieved that....um....seasoned age! My first thought this morning was one of not being sure that I like it. However,  as I thought I about it, I decided to take joy in the fact that I've reached an older age. Because age comes with benefits. Benefit #1 - I'm a bit wiser.   When I look back at some of the decisions I made when I was younger, I cringe. With age has come the ability to slow down and think things through before I make major upheavals in my life. I've also discovered that getting worked up about certain things is just an absolute waste of emotional energy. Benefit #2 - I'm enjoying my life.   As I've aged I've learned all kinds of skills and hobbies and can honestly say that I'm never, ever bored. I love all the different things I'm able to do and it's fun! Benefit #3 - I've learned to appreciate my relationships. With age I've learned to work on developing a...
Read more

Eating to Live

-
Image
  Despite the unexpected busyness and interruptions, I have been plugging away at my weight loss as well as writing the plant-based, whole food cookbook. Recipe testing fell by the wayside the past two weeks, but I've still gotten a good chunk of the book done. I also got on the scale this morning for another one pound loss which makes a total of 61 lbs. since I started this journey back in July. It's second nature at this point and I have so much more energy and feel healthy. The only negative is that because I've lost so much weight I'm seeing some sagging, crepe-papery skin happening. Yuck. Some of that is age and I need to figure out some toning exercises. It's definitely a life-style change, but a positive one which I'm so thankful I started on. The pictures above are a small selection of meals I've eaten the past two months and many of those will be included in the book.  This will be a printable e-book as I find that will be the easiest and most cost ...
Read more

When the Unexpected Pops Up

-
Image
On Thursday afternoon, just as Dan and I were getting ready to leave for a meeting, we received a phone call from our son. He was sitting on the side of the road with a blown engine in his car. The problem is he lives 3 1/2 hours away. After back and forth phone calls he called a tow truck and got it towed to a garage. He ended up renting a car and headed here for the holiday. We've been working with him to figure out his next steps because he still owes thousands of dollars on the car which will also take a significant amount to replace the engine. His rent is going up in the new year. His seasonal job ended and he is trying to find something else, but needs a car for that to happen. His car still has not been looked at by the mechanic. It is all more than a little overwhelming. Long story short, we extended an invitation for him to live here temporarily so he can get out from under all of this. It would save him money on expensive rent and utilities.  The timing was right since h...
Read more