I’m cutting back to the bare essentials! Here’s the condensed version of what is happening with us in this season.
We have a baby due in 15 more weeks, which means (based on history/experience) we have a baby coming in 12 weeks. I’ve been struggling through some depression and anxiety, some of it warranted, some of it completely irrational, but such is pregnancy and hormones, and being pregnant after 30? Not something I ever planned/wanted. So that’s been a trial and adjustment.
I have found my threshold for being overwhelmed has a hair trigger these days, so while I planned to get my first SMH email newsletter out at the end of this month (today) it’s not happening. And I’ve accepted that, no guilt. We’ll see where we are next month, and go from there. I’m learning to let go of what drains me; keep it simple.
Speaking of which, I started reading Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White and it is changing my life, and consequently, my home! Instead of valuing preparedness with a lot of stuff I don’t actually need, I’m finding value in OPEN SPACE! It’s a razor thin edge to walk as a homesteader when virtually everything I encounter could at some point be useful. But I need to have space in my house to actually live! And my house is a container that can only hold so much, people included. Therefore, I don’t need a bigger house, I need less clutter and stuff. Yesterday I hauled out six 13-gallon bags of garbage, and I’ve got three 13-gallon bags ready to donate. Having boundaries, limits, and ground rules is doing wonders for my tendency toward hoarding and calling it “prepping.” Biblically, Scripture is rife with wisdom on holding on to too much, and that stuff affects your quality of life and ability to glorify God, so I’m breaking a whole lot of attachments and it feels like freedom.
Seeds are started, gardens are prepped, trees are pruned, and now we’re just enjoying the spring rains and all the mucky flooding that entails. I’m so ready to get my hands in the dirt! And to see some new life spring up around the place!
Wholly Holy Living 