"...but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no." -James 5:12
We have just started doing the Washington Farmer's Market again (it's a lot easier to stand on your feet outside for hours when you're not pregnant and when it's not June, July, August or early September in Georgia). Reid and I love being at this market-it's where Southern Scratch started and when we are there together it just seems more like getting together with friends than anything else.
So out of this whole week, being at the market was easily where I was "fully present in the present moment" of anywhere. The weather was perfect, the baby slept the entire time and Josephine played the entire time. Once we got back home, both kids went to sleep for a nap around the same time and I was able to sit on the front porch with our Sunday school lesson, my bible and a fresh cup of coffee. Reid was in the yard getting everything together to take the tractor to work on clearing some fields/pastures in the back of the property.
It was totally serene, totally unusual and totally a complete opposite of the preceding week.
This verse above was close to where we were reading for our Sunday school class in James and it is what stood out to me on Saturday. "...but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you will not sin and be condemned."
As I've written earlier, focusing intently on carving out quiet where there is none has revealed all the different areas where I've spread my life out. They are not bad things necessarily, but I find myself having to say "no" or "tomorrow" or "I haven't finished it yet because..." to something I had already said "yes" to doing today. I think I'm not the only one who is full of good intentions and wants to do things sooo much, and do them sooo big, that they can't possibly do it all. This is an area I've gotten a lot better in since even before being married-mostly in the sense that I can recognize when I'm "so super excited" about something and so then try as hard as I can to keep my mouth shut before I volunteer to run it, cater it or donate all of my time/money/expertise/emotional energy toward it.
It's still a struggle though because, thank goodness, I still get really excited about things and I really like doing. And that means that I'm alive, I'm creative, that I'm generally joyful and that is a very good thing. But this verse reminds me that I must be in prayer because I must, must, must! pause. I have to pause and consider my time and my commitments before my "yes" turns into a no.
I think a big part of creating the warm home I envision for our family is me being dependable in this way-my "yes" meaning yes and my "no" meaning no. My husband and my children need to be able to count on me doing what I say I'm going to do. My friends and family need to be able to count on me when I say I'm going to arrive at a certain time or help with a certain task.
So if I've followed myself correctly- prayer leading to pause leading to manageable days that better lend themselves to "present moment living?"
Love,
Kathryn
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