Aug
12
2019
Sugar Water
Posted in Daily Living 6 Comments
It has a been a month of refreshment.
I have never taken off an entire month before.
I wondered if I would miss the daily discipline of putting thoughts to paper.
Actually, if truth be told, putting thoughts to keyboard.
The rest was necessary.
One of the four weeks was a family vacation in North Carolina.
Then there was the blessing of watching one of our granddaughters for another week.
There were surprise birthday parties for friends to attend; there was time to be still.
Rest; what a lovely word.
I was not concerned that the Whispers would be forgotten.
I wondered if I would miss writing each day.
I needed to step back and assess the dailiness of it all.
After a month hiatus, was it time to reduce the number of posts?
Should I just publish Whispers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays?
Would writing fewer Whispers be beneficial?
Was I consistently aware of those quiet Whispers during my month hiatus?
It is hard to say.
I still quieted my heart.
I still listened.
I still noticed what was around me.
However, I was not as intentional with my listening and noticing.
I was not looking for that one thing that would become the Whisper for that day.
I had no need to chronicle.
I had no need to take little notes or speak into my phone as an idea came to mind.
It is in the discipline of looking and listening each day, that I am more aware.
It is very easy to miss things in the day to day as we go about our busy lives.
I realize that I need the accountability, which helps me pay attention to the littlest thing.
I realized that the Whispers were as much for me as for those who read the words each day.
I remember the day on my porch when I noticed the ants.
They were larger ants, not the run of the mill picnic ants.
I watched them go back and forth.
I could not tell from where they came or to where they were going.
Right before our vacation, I figured it out.
I was filling the red hummingbird feeder that hangs next to the wind chimes.
A mixture of sugar and warm water attracts numerous hummingbirds to the feeder.
The sugar water was also just the thing to attract the ants.
I spilled a bit of the sugar water as I hung the feeder on the metal J hook.
In an instant, ants came rushing towards it.
They were at the sugar water faster than I could get the hose to rinse it away.
I thought of the movie Field of Dreams: build it and they will come.
Drop sugar water on the porch and the ants will come.
I decided to empty the hummingbird feeder and put it away for the rest of the summer.
The ants are gone.
The sad thing is that I cannot sit on my porch swing and watch the hummingbirds.
I had a month hiatus from writing.
The hummingbirds had a month hiatus from the sugared water I provided.
Was it necessary?
Yes!
I never want to do something just for the sake of doing it.
Sugar water may bring the hummingbirds to the feeder but it also brings the ants.
A rest was needed; a cessation of doing what was always done.
And it was sweet.
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
(Proverbs 16:24)
Sugar water has its purpose.
Too much of anything is not good.
Rest is needed.
It is important to step back and assess the importance of why we do what we do.
I am grateful for the time away.
I entered a new decade by the sea with my entire family around me.
This time it was salt water that called to me.
I stood by the water’s edge and saw my smallness in relation to God’s bigness.
Perspective is everything.
Whispers are as important to me as I hope they are to you.
I am not writing out of habit; rather I am writing with purpose.
I am writing to make God known, as He is seen in the smallest thing each day.
As I attempt to be intentional about listening once more, listen along with me.
There is so much to hear.
Hummingbirds and ants each come to the sugar water for various reasons.
I pray that no matter the reason, the water of these Whispers is sweet.
So glad you are back
Thank you, friend!
The rest was nice but it is good to be writing each day again.
Gina
Glad for your return. You were missed! I have a greater understanding of your reasons for publicly posting your Whispers. Thank you, Gina.
Thank you, Susie!
It is nice to be back!
Gina
Regina, so glad you took that much-deserved break! (And grateful that you’ve returned!)
XO
Thank you, sweet friend!
Regina