The Gift of Time

There has been a dramatic shift in my life in the past few months.  Anyone who has had more than one small child in their home, knows how hectic life can be when you are faced with the mothering duties of tending to several or many small children.  I cannot imagine how women function while caring for a whole slew of small children (say five children under the age of five).  I found two to be exhausting and all-consuming.

But, towards the middle of August, my last little one finally began all-day school.  Now, I find myself with a whole day spread out before me.  The house is quiet.  It is an absolutely amazing transformation.

I have been able to resume daily exercise.  Every morning, I get the boys off to school and then head to the track to walk laps.  This has been such a good thing for me.  It is beneficial to my health and my prayer life.  (The only thing I don't understand is why some people walk the track in the opposite direction of what I consider to be the natural flow ... this means I must pass them twice with each lap and sometimes they give a greeting or comment with each encounter, which detracts from my ability to focus my heart and mind on prayer.)

I am able to have morning quiet time, instead of squeezing it in at the end of the day when I am tired.  This is such a blessing.  When I am spiritually centered, I handle life's curve balls better.  And there have been curve balls slung in the last month or so: automatic windows on the car needing to be repaired; the garage door suddenly refusing to go up, requiring the replacement of both springs on the door; Sean locking us out of the house one Saturday morning, resulting in the fee of a locksmith; and another boy, who shall remain nameless, leaving the refrigerator door open overnight, causing the loss of food and a thoroughly cleaned out fridge.

But, best of all, I am relishing the ample time for writing.  I have been hard at work trying to finish my third young adult novel.  In addition to the writing, I have been doing research into possible agents to pitch my work to, with the hopes of finally getting published.  This means the honing of the first three chapters, writing queries and composing a synopsis for each book.  It is all a bit overwhelming, but thrilling at the same time.

I am grateful for this gift of time.  I recognize the blessing and pray daily that I will use my time wisely and to good purpose.  I kind of thought I would accomplish more in terms of keeping the house clean, but for now, the writing is my primary focus and I'm content.  I don't know how long this gift of time will be available to me, so I want to appreciate it fully and make the most of it.