sweetgrass

A wise old friend recently began nudging me into the world of blogs. (Okay, she’s not old at all. She’s my baby sister. But we go WAY back and she is wise far beyond her years.) I resisted. It’s not in my nature to share my thoughts or feelings for no good reason and some of the blogs I had been exposed to in the past had been cliché, poorly written, full of their own virtue and, well, boring. So I had dismissed them. But this was my sister who is the most thoughtful person I know, and if she finds value in reading and writing blogs then maybe I had misjudged the whole blogging thing? Slowly, persistently, she sent me links to the most amazing and beautiful blogs. I began to pay attention. After all, this was the girl who introduced me to hip hop, email, Mad Men, the miracle that is good eye makeup, Feist, most of the cool settings on my camera, hummus…she never steers me wrong.

Still, it seemed unnecessary. It looked like fun (and I was dying to pick out a color scheme and a font) but did I really have that much of importance to say? Was I up for the commitment? Would I ever write things that were good enough to actually post? (Hi. I’m hyper-critical of myself and others.) On top of that, I reasoned, the last thing I need is another task tethering me to my laptop.

Then one day I was looking through photos from the last couple of years and I came upon the pictures of our trip to Montana last summer. My favorite place on earth. It’s holy to me. I always feel a little bit closer to God when I’m in that country, more likely to hear His voice in the blessed peace. I feel smaller, more like a child, and I miss it terribly when I’m not there. Looking at the pictures I could just smell the sweetgrass on the air, relish the quiet sounds of nature, feel the wind and the warm sun. No traffic, no lines, no competing for status, no deadlines. Just sweet purity.

And it hit me. I need a place of quiet reflection. And this is it. It’s no facebook wall. It’s not an email. It is not a place where I plan to get political or try to be intellectual. It’s a place for me to be still and mindful, and to celebrate the things that bring beauty and joy to this life.

And I’m glad to be here.

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..." Psalm 37:7


~ linking up with the little things we do~