They say that life goes
by faster the older you get. I remember when I was still in school, the year would draaaggg on for me while my mom would talk about how fast it all went. I never quite got it. Now, here I am, a mom of two, wondering how the heck time keeps speeding up. Sure, there are days that seem to drag on, but then before I know it, another week has gone by. Then another month. And soon, I will be celebrating my baby’s FIRST birthday and sending my oldest to kindergarten. How can it be??

As my life changes, so do my priorities. This blog, for example, has taken the backseat to my responsibilities of mom/homemaker, yoga instructor, photographer, landlord and AirBnb host (more on that last one later!). As much as I want to sit down to write, there are a million other things that pull for my attention. And the rare times that I do try to write, I find myself staring blankly at the screen wondering what I’m supposed to say. My life doesn’t exactly seem very glamorous or inspiring right now. BUT…(here comes a story!)

When I was in fourth grade, I ended up in Mrs. Philbert’s class. This was particularly lucky because this was her last year before she would be retiring. Mrs. Philbert was THE best. She was one of those teachers that was so passionate about what she did and more importantly about the children she taught. There were literally parents who she had taught when they were kids who would come in and bring her flowers/visit her because she had made such a big impact on them as children (flash forward: I loved her so much that we invited her to our wedding. And yes, she came!). One of the things she loved igniting in the children she taught was a love for reading and writing. She recognized the spark I had for writing and helped light the fire in me. She told me I was gifted. I had always loved making up stories, writing poems, etc, but to have someone I respected tell me I had talent was so encouraging. That year I wrote more than ever before and even created a book full of poems as part of her retirement gift. She told me she’d cherish it always, gave me a blank journal and told me to never stop writing. And I’ve been writing ever since. Like dance and yoga, writing is freeing for me. It allows me to connect with the deeper part of myself that I can’t any other way.

When life gets busy, we lose time for some of the things we love. I know this is certainly true in my life. Yoga, working out, writing (some of my loves) are all things that have gotten pushed to the side. Not without good reason, but pushed aside nonetheless. As I began dreaming and revamping Beneath the Olive Tree, the words that were put on my heart were “love God. love self. love others” based on Luke 10:27. Right now, I’m in a season of “love others” as I pour into my family and I do my best to love God in all that I do but I realized that I have been neglecting to love self. The Lord tells us in Luke 10:27 to love our neighbor AS ourself, not instead of ourself. So little by little, I am going to be intentional about loving myself by honing in on the things that make me who I am.

I’m taking Mrs. Philbert’s advice to never stop writing. This blog post is my humble attempt to keep that promise, to love myself and to make time for the little things that make my heart smile. Even when life gets busy.

What is that thing for you? Be intentional and do it this week!