Are You Savouring Your “Tiny Moments”? Do You Know Where To Find Them?

This past summer has been hard for so many of us! Long, hot, and filled with turmoil at home, in the political scene, and for us, Catholics, in our church as allegations and accusations fly. We are about to begin the school year with its extra activities and full days and we are already tired.

The children are tired too and we all feel as if we are not really ready for a change in activities and a busier calendar.

What shall we do? Where do we turn “in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water”? If our “mother culture” and attitude are the setter of the tone in our homes and schools, where do we go for a reset?

Tiny moments.

One drop does not make a rainstorm, but it is a sign of one to come.

Do we see the signs?

They exist.

You are in the shower and you hear the six year old crying in pain, but by the time you rush through washing and get out, he is quiet and calm because the big boy (who yelled at you ten minutes ago about a job he didn’t want to do) is holding and rocking him, while icing the fingers that were pinched in the recycling bin lid.

Savour the tiny moment of compassion and empathy. Nurture it.

The ten year old complains mightily about hanging the laundry (and then rehanging it with pins instead of flopping it over the line) but goes and hangs the second load nicely. 

Savour the tiny moment of diligence and helpfulness. Nurture it.

Everyone is quietly playing in the yard, while you write a blog post, having told them that you are going to work until your timer rings. The 3 year old is marching around the house waving a wand and singing her own particular version of America the Beautiful. For 10 or 20 minutes you can drink tea and write.

Savour the tiny moment of creativity (you) and respect of time and focus (them). Thank them later.

You finally get around to clearing out your bedroom of all the accumulated junk from the summer. Actually, you only get half of it done and there is now an ENORMOUS heap of books downstairs to be shelved. one half of the floor is now clear and swept. 

Savour the tiny moment of order brought from chaos. Put finish the bedroom on tomorrow’s list.

There are so many tiny moments like this, if we will only stop and see them. Human nature makes us want to complain and sigh, “I got nothing done today!” Really?

No progress at all?

Stop. Breathe. Examine your interactions and the bits of things you did. Where was God in all of that?

In the patient kindness of your voice?

In the big brother’s care for the little brother?

In the clean floor?

YES!

Tiny moments, drops of refreshment — if we will only stop to dance in the rain.

 

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