Stress and Mowing

I was push mowing the yard yesterday, something I don't do often now that I have teens. As I was mowing I noticed something......it was quiet (except for the sound of the engine), no kids yelling, no phone ringing, no beeps telling me laundry was done or dinner was ready or that I had a text. Oddly enough it was pretty peaceful. I was alone with my thoughts and prayers.

My thoughts took me back to another time when things were more simple. A time when my decisions and mistakes didn't affect quite so many people. A time when my stress was a little less. A time when I was the teen and not the parent of a teen.

I know I gave my parents a hard time about doing the yard but, truth be told, I kinda liked it. It was a time I could think and pray. I began to talk to my Creator and sing praise songs as I walked the yard. It was a good time with God. After a while my parents began to notice a change in my attitude. Spending so much time with God had made me more like Him. Pretty Amazing!!

Fast forward many years to when my husband and I first adopted our sibling group of four. We went from a family of five to a family of nine overnight and our house was in chaos. I tried to make sure it was organized chaos but honestly that didn't happen very often. On those occasions that the stress of life got too much, weather permitting, I would get on our riding lawn tractor and mow our two acres. It reconnected me with God and brought me back to a peaceful state.

I'm glad I got the opportunity to spend that extra time with God yesterday. This week holds more stress than most. We have to appear in court with our RADlet. It is good that I was able to do something that could get me to that peaceful state before my stress levels got out-of-hand. Could it be that I have learned a thing or two through the years?