To be completely honest, I haven’t felt super inspired today. I wasn’t sure if I could muster up a post tonight because, looking back on the day’s events, I had no idea what to write about. I haven’t been feeling my best and overall just feeling restless. But hey – I did say this blog would hold the good, the bad, and the blah! So, I sat my bum down and reflected on my day. And that’s when I realized something: one of the reasons I love about writing/blogging is because it causes me to reflect. Otherwise, I could go about my day and never process what happened, going to bed annoyed without ever knowing what was at the root of my irritation. I have a goal of writing one letter by snail mail a week, just to process life’s events and completely placing my focus on someone else. Time is valuable, and taking time out of the busyness of life to sit down and write someone else means a lot. Well, I think it does. It’s a way to show someone you value them enough to stop what you’re doing, sit still, and focus on them, asking about their life. I’ll have to write about my love for snail mail another time. Now back to my reflections of the day and what I processed:
Here’s the goodness to honest truth: I love Christmastime. It really is my favorite, and Laurel is filled with warmth, hospitality and southern charm. But as wonderful as Laurel is, my heart still longs for what’s familiar to me – family: my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles back in Virginia, our Christmastime traditions, the cold, nippy weather, anticipating the possibility of snow, the Blue Ridge mountains. I was caught off guard by how much my heart would long for my old home during the holidays, and it’s hit me like a ton of bricks. Don’t get me wrong, the friends and community we have here in Laurel is a beautiful blessing, and we wouldn’t trade it for anything. But there’s something about the holidays that fills you with a void that only family can fill.
This evening, I had to run to the Laurel Mercantile Co. for a last minute gift. Upon my arrival, I noticed my friend, Emily, working on a half-built puzzle. I’ll have you know that 1) puzzles are one of my favorite ways to de-stress, and 2) building puzzles is one of those Christmastime family traditions that I was referring to earlier. Every year, my siblings and I will work on a puzzle with a winter scene, and we try to finish it before Christmas day. Anyway, back to Emily. As I was checking out with my gift, she asked if I would like to help her build the puzzle. Of course she had no prior knowledge that building puzzles was one of my favorite things, or that I was feeling particularly homesick today and a building a puzzle was just the thing to cheer me up. Funny how God knows our hearts like that and uses us for His purpose. I ended up going into the Mercantile for a gift, and two hours later left with my gift, a completed puzzle, and a full heart.
Sometimes, when we’re restless, we can only see one piece of the puzzle, and we miss the whole picture. Be encouraged, friends. God knows what we need, right when we need it.
Home Sweet Hurt 