John MuirClimb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you...
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
M and I sneaked off for a weekend together...and by sneaked off, I mean, did laundry for days and pulled together meals and hauled my in-laws down to help with the kids and talked through all the soccer tournament schedule and Saturday rehearsals for dance and laid out clothes and snacks and then....we absconded to a beautiful resort.
If you've commented over the last few days and you haven't heard from me yet, it's because I've been hanging out with this guy to whom I am apparently happily married. He is pretty cute, seems really nice, and I'm delighted to discover that we are legally and religiously allowed to run off on a little rendezvous every so often.
We have engaged in actual conversations. No one has interrupted us to ask if they can watch a mindless cartoon or to inquire as to where they might find their latest set of shin guards or to tattle on a errant sibling.
Conversation is good.
The resort where we have stayed shares access to a beautiful hiking preserve. M and I have spent several hours traversing the long trails, drinking in vistas, listening to the river pour over boulders, admiring cardinals conducting sky wars and small creatures grocery shopping in the underbrush.
And we find ourselves renewed.
We find our cups refilled.
Drinking in the clean autumn air, the dazzling foliage framing our views, has soothed some of life's most recent bruises and has infused us with a quiet joy.
Healing through hiking.
Nurturing through nature.
Allowing a wild place to tame our busy life, our frenetic pace, our complicated calendar.
And to remember how to again breathe deeply, the green scent of the river, the smoky dust of the forest, the sharp crispness of the fall air, perfuming our rest, perfuming our renewal.
And from our treed cathedral, we return refreshed.
So what renews you? Is it the bustle of a new city, the cadence of waves on the shore, the new vistas of travel? What brings you a chance to breath and rest and refresh? What is the balm that infuses your soul with more fuel for the journey? Feel free to leave a comment or to write your own post on this topic and put your name and the url of your post in the Mister Linky's box below. Give us a little insight into your soul sanctuary!
I am definitely one who finds peace and renewal in nature. I've been paging through my gratitude journal, and there are two consistent themes - one source of endless joy is my family, the other is the beauty surrounding us each day. We are lucky to live near several wonderful parks and nature preserves, and they truly can be therapeutic for me.
ReplyDeletePraying for you and your friends during this time of great loss.
Hugs,
Steph
I'm very sorry to hear of the loss of your dear friend. God bless you, your family and the family of your friend during this sad time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being honest on just what it took to "sneak away"...else I would have spent the entire day wondering how you managed it.
ReplyDeleteThere is never a dull moment around here .. one of the 7 kids is always on the phone with a need or knocking on the bedroom door (if we have managed to slip that far away) ..
ReplyDeleteSo .. Tammy and I will sometimes just jump in the truck and go for a long drive .. we take the cameras to do some photo shooting .. we take unknown roads to see where they go .. we talk about nothing and everything .. and then .. when our minds realize we are away .. they slow down ..
With kids ranging from 28 to 13 .. it is hard to stay out of touch for long .. if we request an 'emergency only' call time .. someone has their version of an emergency .. sigh ..
still .. short trips are good
The beach! Sand in my butt crack, coral cuts on my feet, sandflies biting my legs, nothing better, really, I mean it! I bought one of those noise machines for babies in the hope of some rest from his reflux and set it to wave sounds and I went to sleep! Lion was still raging as I woke up when it clicked off. I got rest, just not how I envisioned it. Your family would fit in our beach hut (our families, not ours personally) when you come to Australia I'll put in a good word with my grandma for you, it's close to some great rainforests!!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome on the "sneak-away" with your love..that is one of those things I know will take place for dh and I one of these days...we are good with date night for now...
ReplyDeleteI am renewed and refreshed with a cup of coffee and a book...I have always found that I can remove myself from the chaos in a book..the other renewal for me is to take a drive into the mountains, any mountains will do...the majesty takes my breath away and I have listen because I can no longer talk.
A quiet hour with a good book will renew me very quickly. Not nature, though. Nature just give me heart palpitations.
ReplyDeleteSpending time with my hubby, taking hotogrpahs is our "alone" or "quiet time", even if we are shooting other people! The dynamism between us durign those moments remind me of my love for him and how he is my best friend at the same time. In the craziness of our household, we rarely have time to look at each other and feel this way.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to get away with your sweetie!!
ReplyDeleteThe hubby taking both kids out, or having both kids at school, so that I have a quiet house for an hour or so. To put stuff away, finish the laundry, organize, get myself together. Or to use that time to read a book, a favorite blog, or even take a nap.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you were able to get away to have a little adult time to heal some of your hurt.
There are a list of things I find renewing. I love nature and spending quiet time enjoying it with my hubby, too. I also enjoy days at the spa with my hubby or just a quiet day snuggled up watching movies. I find renewal and peace in God's word and going to Christian Conference's too.
ReplyDeleteLove the weekends away! My daily pieces of peace are a morning walk and a nightly cuddle with a boy big or small.
ReplyDeleteDid you give him a haircut this weekend? He he. Couldn't help but think of you last Sunday when I cut my husband's hair.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I am most renewed after a weekend of staying home, sweeping my floors, getting the dead leaves off my deck, and shaking the pine needles out of the rugs! That's true R&R for me. Ah!!!!!!!!
Exactly! And so beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteWhen the hubby and I went away in May we were so pleasantly surprised how much we REALLY enjoyed being together. You forget how much you love to talk, hang out, and be with that person alone after a while. It is so good for a marriage to get away once and a while.
Glad you two got a chance to get away and just be a couple. I am sure it was way over due and well deserved!
ReplyDeleteI love a weekend at the lake!!! That always (usually) helps me get back to good.
How nice you two got away!!!! Sounded perfect! My husband & I went away last year for 4 days and we were shocked that we enjoyed each other even more than we thought we would. Hah.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great time for you and your spouse! I had a cousins weekend this last weekend, where we went shopping, watched Twilight and stayed up way too late talking. It was renewing for me too, but not in the same kind of way being with my husband for a weekend alone can be. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteI think that hubby and I would like the place you visited. We escape to the mountains, usually with chickies in tow, and there we are refreshed by gurgling streams, invigorated by hikes and at peace looking at the stars God placed in the sky.
ReplyDeleteIt took us years to realize we needed to sneak away sometimes. The first time we did, I told my husband, "just don't, don't, don't talk business." We went - had an amazing time and after or during, I remember turning to him and saying, "I just remembered why I love you!" You need to get away as often as possible without taking too much time away - otherwise, you risk forgetting the essence of the couple upon which you built the family.
ReplyDeleteWe take our holidays "locally" throughout Israel. Now that my son is in the army, I can't leave the country - can't risk being too far away. I'm too afraid to do that. By the time he finishes , our second son will be in the army - so that seals the next 5 years or so. After that, we have a few years break...and then the next son goes in...so, we'll be sticking around here. If you ever want amazing places to visit in Israel...just let me know.
Paula
Good for you, Octamom! You know,for us it almost doesn't matter what we do, just that we do it with out the kiddos, and for longer than a couple of hours. We could use some of that right now!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you could get away!
ReplyDeleteFor me, the ocean makes all my problems seem small in comparison...
Nerdish and frugal though we may sound, after the kids are bedded down at 8ish each night, a glass of wine is poured for me, husband typically has one as well, or makes himself a cocktail and we assume our positions on the couch for whatever entertainment might be available on TV...we drank in the political season with greater enthusiasm than our wine, and now we're soaking up the extended (for a month) offerings of On Demand.
ReplyDeleteGetaways are SOOO lovely; yet in their absence, we can still share some one-on-one time on the home front. :)
Sounds like you had a LOVELY, well-deserved weekend. :) Yay, Octamom!
So glad you had time with your man. :) Nothing refreshes me more than a week away with my hubby....it is the bestest! We try to get away several times a year...
ReplyDeleteYou really needed that time away and I am so glad you loved it! We'll have to check out the getaway place!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written. Glad you had a great getaway!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you could sneak off with your husband. Nature is incredibly soothing and calming. Glad you're back, though. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is so wonderful you could get away. I am a wee bit jealous.
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