Recently I went to Emily Freeman’s blog – it had been a while since I last visited it. I found her reflection of the things she learned this summer and her invitation to her readers to also share what they had learned. At first I didn’t think I could come up with an actual list, since I hadn’t really been thinking about it intentionally this summer. But when I sat down to jot down a few, I quickly came up with the list below. I wrote them down as they came to mind – nothing significant about the order.
1. In the Myers Brigg Personality test, I am very close to the middle in the P and J but when I go through transition and change, I default to J. Structure helps me to have a sense of where I am headed. So even if it is a very simple plan, it really helps me to think through it, talk about it with my husband and stick to it.
2. Being off Instagram on the weekends made me realize how mindlessly I turn to it and how much time I waste on it! I have been fasting off IG during the weekends. I uninstall it late Thursday or early Friday (since Fridays are the day of worship in the country we live in, and thus the first day of the weekend) and install it back up again on Monday. I use that time to focus on other things: reading, praying, memorizing the Scriptures or simply just enjoying those right in front of me. It is a weekly rhythm that is helping me realign my life and heart.
3. Sons are the sweetest gift. We just had a son 12 days ago. Before he was born I was so scared of not loving him as much as I have loved my daughters. I had no vision for being a mom of a boy. But oh, my son melts my heart. In some ways I find myself bonding more quickly than I did with the girls (even though I adored my girls when they were tiny).
4. I enjoy learning language with my husband. We spent 100 hours studying the local language this Summer and I am thankful that we really liked being in class together.
5. I can DIY! I have always thought of myself more of a DIFM person – Do It For Me. I love the DIY style but I am not super gifted with my hands. But getting ready for baby I embarked on a few projects and I am super excited how they have been turning out!
6. My girls are awesome big sisters. They have been so helpful – bringing me water when I am nursing, throwing out diapers, holding their sweet baby brother.
7. I love memoirs. My go to reading books are usually on theology, but this summer I read memoirs by Madeleine L’Engle, Tsh Oxenreider and Jen Pollock Michel (her book is a part memoir, part theology)… and couldn’t really put them down. Memoirs might be very close to my favorite genre.
8. Sleeping with the phone outside my bedroom has helped me to unplug. It is so nice not to have the phone to reach for when I can’t sleep at night or to be the first thing I grab when I wake up. Having it physically out of reach exposed how addicted I can be to it.
9. I am often tempted to fear not being enough for people around me – instead of embracing it and resting that He is enough for them.
10. Nothing will take away the joy of holding an actual book – but during my sleepless nights of pregnancy and now while nursing, it is so nice to have a kindle that allows me to read while the lights are off in our room and my husband sleeps next to me.
Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash
Aylín Merck 