The Sweet Spot

It's been a while since I've written something of substance here on the blog.  My fingers itch to dance across the keyboard - my heart desperately wanting to remember this phase of our lives.  For some reason, the words haven't come easy and my thoughts aren't well-formed, but I'm ready to write.

Some time after we returned from our Disney trip (maybe that was the start?) we've been in, what I'm calling, the sweet spot.  It occurred to me sometime in November that life was feeling particularly good.  Peaceful, even.  I brought this up to Jeramie during our Thanksgiving travels and he was feeling it as well.

It was a noticeable difference, mostly because life had been stressful and chaotic earlier in the fall.  I was feeling stretched thin, terribly impatient, and less than graceful.  Jeramie and I were in a constant state of frustration with each other, and Ethan often experienced the effects of my emotional instability.  I can't pinpoint the exact source of our family's imbalance, but one day I was heavily convicted about our "social" calendar.  It had been a particularly busy week and I was just over it.  Over commitments.  Over busy-ness.  Over the frustration.

So, I prayed.

I asked God to slow us down and re-focus our hearts.  I asked Him to give me a new kind of love for Jeramie, more patience for Ethan, and an endless amount of grace for all three of us.  That week, days that had been scheduled to the max suddenly became void of commitments.  Meetings were canceled, outings with friends were rescheduled, and something changed in our family.  This all happened simultaneously with our church's sermon series in Proverbs, and I just knew God was speaking His wisdom and peace straight into our hearts.

It has been pretty incredible to sit back and watch Him work in our lives.  In addition to this re-focusing we've experienced lately - which has been more internal in nature - God is also working out some big things, externally, for our family. 

Many of you know that we've been desiring two specific things in the past few months: a new job for Jeramie and a sibling for Ethan.  While I'm not yet pregnant, but very much wanting to be, I have personally experienced a sense of emotional protection and peace about it all.  God has placed a pretty amazing friendship in our lives, which has given us a glimpse into how our family could look in the next few years, and it has calmed my heart in so many ways.  And on the job front? Jeramie starts in a new position at his company on Monday.  Praise God!

I love that this sweet spot has come in the midst of Advent, this season of expectant waiting.  It's so abundantly clear to me that God has been preparing our family - our hearts - for this time, and I pray that our words and actions are honoring and glorifying Him.  I don't know if it's because of the Advent activities we're doing with Ethan, or my own personal journey to this place - or maybe a mixture of both - but the story of our Savior's birth hasn't been this real to me in a long time ... maybe ever.

So, today, I'm praising God for this place of peace, savoring this sweet life with my boys, and waiting patiently and expectantly for the joy that's coming.

Happy December, friends! May you and your family be blessed this Christmas season.