You Don't Have to Try So Hard

Thank you to Holly for inviting us to reflect on our own spiritual journey! Please stop by and join us at her blog.

It's summer. I've been out of school for a month but it just didn't feel like summer. In my haste to set goals and make this a productive summer, I lost sight of what summer is supposed to be. Summer is a time to slow down...a time to appreciate...a time to reflect and rejuvenate. I was jamming more and more stuff into summer and onto my To Do List. I can't even believe I had a To Do List in the first place, that's so unlike me.

I've had so many obligations to fulfill (most of my own creation) I worked and worked and then I crashed. Sad and lonely are my "go to" emotions when I'm overwhelmed. I took a day to feel those feelings. My grammy always said, "You get a day...one day to feel sad or bad or lonely...but ONLY one day. The next day you need to get up and start again." So, I took my day and let myself felt awful. I got up the next day and started over again. I decided Thursday was for ME. No obligations. No work. No blogging. A day for me. 

There's a bookstore I'd been wanting to see for a long time, so I got directions and drove 40 minutes and found it.

McKay Used Books

It's a huge store filled with used books and DVDs and music. I searched through the shelves to find hidden treasures and boy did I find them. 

I will certainly be going back. 

After that visit, I stopped by another bookstore, Barnes & Noble. I don't have any bookstores close to where I live, so I go whenever I'm near one. Here's where things get good! Browsing the aisles in a bookstore is one of my favorite things to do. I love the serendipity of it all. I feel like I've discovered many life changing books because I "accidentally" found them on nearby shelves. It happened again.

God Never Blinks by Regina Brett practically leapt of the shelves into my grasp. I purchased it with a few other goodies and dove into at a solitary lunch at Pizzeria Uno. Here is where words fail me. The effect of this book on me is amazing. Each lesson (I'm up to eight) has touched me and spoken directly to me. I'm grateful for her words and her lessons. 

If the day ended there, I'd consider it quite a success, but it didn't! I got home and found that a friend had an extra ticket to a Straight No Chaser concert at Wolf Trap...off I went. Being so spontaneous is very unlike me, but I loved every single moment of this evening...from meeting new friends, to the seats so close I could really see the singers, to the perfect weather. It was such a gift! Here's a video of Straight No Chaser in case you haven't heard of them! 

Look!!! Our seats were so close... 

...and it was a perfect evening filled with new friends and beautiful music. 

Yesterday, I stopped trying so hard. I stopped comparing myself to everyone else. I stopped pushing. I let go yesterday and look what happened...God provides when we let go and allow Him to care for us.

Thanks again to Holly for the inspiring blog link up! It's one of my favorites.