Hearth & Hive

Teaspoons of Gratitude

October 1st, 2018

Sometimes when my tall-Prince of a husband and I fight, it is dirty. Well, the dishes are anyway. We have been known to fight over who washes the dishes–for very different reasons. He desires to show love and appreciation to me by helping me. I enjoy the warm, soapy water on cool evenings and those rare moments of quiet reflection. Ordinary tasks, such as washing dishes, can be abundantly extraordinary. Really? YES! Let me share some of my dish-doing musings.

A couple years ago, my silver-curled mother-in-law gifted me a tiny, silver teaspoon. On the slender handle tip is a wee silver teapot. This little spoon has been a treasure. So much so that one night I dreamed our house caught fire, and I ran to save the silver teaspoon. Does a simple object have that much value that it is what I risk my time to retrieve? No. But isn’t that how we often treat life? We’re a part of the race to obtain more and better and even most and best. What if we instead journeyed through life being content with what we have, who we are, and where we are? What if we spent more time focused on what we can give? What if we really practiced and lived gratitude? Just imagine.

Gratitude is another reason I enjoy dish washing. Each item cleansed is an opportunity to be grateful. I have abundant healthy food to prepare for and feed my family. God has blessed us with nice kitchenware. I have a home, running water, hot water, a comfortable place to live life. What I’m trying to say is that I have so much. For a long time I struggled with guilt for being able to have what others could not. In her book Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo describes the world of a community living among a trash dump in Mumbai, India. Her writing is both convicting and haunting. Heartbreaking. Unforgettable. Why don’t I have to suffer as these people must? After wrestling similar thoughts for a long time, Jesus showed me that I have so that I may give. As Jesus Himself said, it really is “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35 NIV).
Words, Grace, and Tea

September 21st, 2018

Words. Language. Etymologies. Everything that is a part of language fascinates me. Don’t even get me started on books and reading! Well, perhaps I’ll mention just a couple books in a moment. For now, though, I’ll get back to words. At the close of each year, I begin praying and searching for a focus word for the upcoming year. This has been a bit of a meditative practice. 2018’s word is “pause.” Specifically, being still to know that God is God (Psalm 46:10).

In pausing and in this utter stillness, I discovered grace. For so long, I’d been striving for perfection. If I just were perfect at one more thing, maybe I’d finally be good enough for my father. Maybe I’d finally be loved and wanted. All the top grades, excellence at this or that never made a difference. Most devastating was my belief that I’d never be good enough or perfect enough for God. But that’s where grace steps in. Ann Voskamp wrote, “This is the year to be held by arms of grace, not to any standard of perfection.”

That quote has been my mantra. Gone is the drive toward perfection. I’ve embraced grace, that sweet acceptance of being who I was created to be without being perfect. And I am held. I am loved. Immensely. My Creator and my Lord lavishes love and favor on me though I am so far from deserving His grace.

One of the first books I read this year was Emily Ley’s Grace Not Perfection. What a marvelous book to help one embrace grace, let go of perfectionism, prioritize, and simplify! Sit down with a cup of tea and immerse yourself in this book.

Speaking of tea, savoring a cup of warm tea in a pretty teacup is my favorite way to quiet my soul, become still, read, and pray. And these moments don’t have to be perfect, because, it’s all about grace anyway.

“…be held by the arms of grace, not to any standard of perfection.” Ann Voskamp

Teaspoons of Gratitude

Words, Grace, and Tea