It Started with the Basil

I planned to sit down for a few minutes this morning in a little patch of deliciously warm sunlight I’d spotted when I opened the blinds after breakfast. It looked so warm and cozy, that little spot, and I was soooo ready to sit down – right after I finished drying the basil I’d picked yesterday.

I had to dry the basil first because it was taking up half my kitchen bench space and sooner or later, given my curious not-quite-bench-height kids, it was going to be all over the floor.

While I dried the basil, I figured I’d empty the dishwasher. It made sense. I was in the kitchen anyway waiting at forty second intervals for my microwave to beep so I could check the basil.

And then I saw the recycling sitting there, taunting me, and the bin full of rubbish which had somehow multiplied overnight and now needed emptying. I’d just do that, I promised myself, and then I’d sit down.

But first, I had to get dressed since there was no way I was going outside in my daggy winter pyjamas. Of course, going into my room to get dressed also reminded me that I hadn’t made my bed yet, so I did that too. Then got dressed. And took the rubbish and recycling out. Now I’d sit down for a few minutes, I told myself.

Only, as I was coming in from taking the rubbish out, my washing machine started beeping at me to let me know it was finished and required hanging out. And I got the idea for this post which had to be written down before I forgot…

My washing machine is still beeping at me, my kids are still in their pyjamas (fortunately playing very happily as I run from one thing to the next), I haven’t yet washed up the breakfast mess (next on the list…) and that’s just the beginning of all the things I still have to do today, but I’m sitting down.

I realised, thankfully before it was too late, that my little patch of sunlight wasn’t going to last forever and if I didn’t sit down now, I was going to miss it entirely.

Ever had one of those days? Ever not? I seem to have a lot of them.

The truth is, there’s always something more to do. There will always be something to clean, something to do, someone you should be catching up with.

Sometimes, we just have to stop. Ignore it all, and stop. Spend time with the kids who won’t be little forever, spend time on our own, spend time with God. Be still, and know that he is God. It’s beyond important – it truly is a matter of life and death. It’s in those moments of quiet and stillness that we are refreshed, that we realise what’s important and that God speaks.

My patch of sunlight was only there for another five minutes. Had I hung up the washing, I would have missed it. But I also would have missed that five minutes I spent with God, thanking him for the gift of time and his reminder to keep what is important important and hold the rest loosely. 

By the end of the day, the washing was done, as was the vacuuming. The basil was dried, the dishes were all clean and my kids were back in their pyjamas. Life went on, most of the things on my to-do list got done. That five minutes wasn’t very long, but it made all the difference.

Be still and know that God is God – even when the world is going crazy around you. 

Actually, especially then.