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. 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. 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.

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