The stories of Winnie the Pooh will always hold a special place in my heart. When my husband and I were expecting our first child together, we decided not to find out whether we were having a boy or a girl. Even though I strongly suspected I was carrying a boy (and yes, even bought some blue clothes), we decorated the nursery in a gender-neutral, Classic Pooh theme. And even though our 10-year-old daughter (yes, I was totally wrong) and her younger sister have completely redecorated the bedroom, my fondness for Classic Pooh remains.
What I love about this quote is its simplicity. There are days — many days, I would imagine — where busy people get overwhelmed by life. Not just busy moms like myself — all sorts of busy people. Each one of us faces our own personal struggles. And whether we are children or grandparents, there are constant demands on our time.
Days like today, I need to admit that I can’t wrap my head around it all: “I have this amount of time blocked off for myself. What do I do with this time? Do I sit down and write something? Tackle a project around the house? Clean or organize a room or closet? Take a quick nap? I’m not really hungry, but I know I should eat something or I’ll regret it later. Maybe I should start something for dinner? Should I turn on the TV? Or take some time for prayer? Maybe I should read a chapter in that book that needs to go back to the library…”
And so my brain goes — spinning and spinning, never quieting. Until all that time I’d set aside “for myself” is completely wasted with worrying about how to spend it. Sound ridiculous? It is. Absolutely.
I’m refusing to fall into this pattern today. While I still have some time left for myself, I’m writing this blog entry (because let’s face it — we write when inspiration hits or else it’s gone) and then taking a quiet moment for prayer. So many of my prayers lately have been asking not for physical things, but requests for guidance and direction. What should I be working on, Lord? Where should my priorities lie? I’m just smart enough to realize that I do not have the answers to these questions on my own.
A.A. Milne wrote some amazing works in his life. I’m grateful, though, that today the one phrase I needed most was readily available to me. Amazing.
LB