Last night I stepped into a hot shower and remembered my daily winter dilemma: I wish I could live in steamy showers and never have to feel cold at all.
You see, I like summer.
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Cozy sweaters, boots, and hot chocolate are nothing to me compared with flip flops, ocean waves, and sundresses.
One of my dreams in life is to move to Santa Barbara, buy a vintage Airstream trailer and exist on farmers market purchases and oranges from the tree in my front yard.
I would start a small community with my family called “The Pacific Reformed Amish”. We would live a simple life next to the Pacific Ocean. Modern conveniences wouldn’t even be necessary. We could just hand wash our swimsuits in a cute vintage bucket and hang them to dry by the bougainvillea near the patio.
Life would be free of troubles and cares, and full of quiet beauty and quaint vignettes of surfboards leaned up against rusty turquoise sheds, and girls on beach cruisers with wicker baskets full of flowers.
Pinterest would love the whole set up.
But here we are in Texas, during fall, with a life full of modern conveniences and plenty of mess to deal with. Somewhere in my Santa Barbara fantasy, though, is the seed of true happiness. It is the dearest part of my real life, and it brightens the bleak winter days that are coming.
There is great joy in the small part of life. Children cupping mugs of hot chocolate in their hands, and my heart held gently by my trustworthy husband. Quiet mornings with Bibles open on the sofa, and little faces reading intently. Dinner tables laden with food and surrounded by laughter ringing out in great gusts of joy.
It’s not always summer, and storms rage around us very often. But the prevailing winds always seem to blow us closer and deeper into God, and that is a great comfort, indeed.
When it seems to difficult to go on, there is always the precious small place.
Pinterest will never really know how good that small place is. You can’t photograph it or explain it. It isn’t a quote and can’t be conjured up with a recipe or a set of DIY instructions.
Hidden deep in our circumstances is love and light and faith and trust that grows and teaches us that what we have together is better than all the Santa Barbara dreams the whole world ever drummed up.
The small place of here, today, this season is enough. We aren’t missing out on anything. We are right where we need to be. You can feel free to go ahead and pin that right onto your soul.
