Make It Beautiful

I’m the queen of efficiency. It's a blessing and a curse.

Everybody at my house knows if you can’t keep up with Mom, you might just get run over. (Including Benjamin's ball.)

Days are calculated to the minute. Months are planned in advance. I rarely do one thing at a time. Lifa enters the kitchen like a soldier marching in to receive orders, and Chris stays out.

Chris and I make a great team. He’s an incredible visionary and big picture thinker. My mind can’t stretch as wide and far as his, but I can plan out every last action step to make the dream become a reality - with deadlines set and step-by-step reminders automated.

My super power helps me keep the family flowing but can also run me ragged. I just can’t go to bed without planning the next day and resetting the kitchen for the morning. I often go for weeks with my head down, running against the wind into the next thing after the next thing.

I don’t even see what’s beautiful.

I don’t want to finish this race marked out for me patting myself on the back for my accomplishments but having missed the journey completely. Benjamin just learned to hug while patting you on the back with the cuuuutest sounds.)

So I’m adding beautiful.

The opposite of efficiency (to me) is ridiculous, unnecessary, and often beautiful. Later today, we will celebrate Thanksgiving with hours of unnecessary (and very fun) decorations and activities around us. It was good for my soul and AMAZING for Lifa to spend all the hours creating a memorable, beautiful Thanksgiving.

I’ve also added a 15 minute loop to mine and Benjamin’s morning walk. We drop Lifa off at school and then go stroll. He loves watching cars and birds, and I worship. I pop in my headphones, start a playlist, and I sing. My voice isn’t beautiful but that extra time in God’s presence is stunning. It has shaped me more than anything else in the past weeks.

I’ve found that making time for beautiful makes space for other things. The math doesn’t make sense.

We were created in the image of a God who went to great lengths to surround us with beauty. He made us to enjoy it - to breathe it in and breathe Him in. Try it. When you do, you might just find more space in your lungs.