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No matter where we travel or go it always feels great to be home. Traveling and seeing other beautiful places makes me love and appreciate where we live even more. It has been more than 3 weeks now since we came back from our amazing trip to Spain but it feels a lot longer than that. Unpacking, getting back to home routines, new responsibilities at work, celebrating Ashley’s birthday, fighting and trying to diagnose the unknown (dental or sinuses pain) brought me into the “real life” very quick. The great thing is having this peace inside that keeps me going and makes me wonder if I really make it look too easy for an outside eye.

There is no question I would not be able to get it all done without my hard-working husband who tries to get the dishes done before I get back from work and makes sure our toddler daughter isn’t hungry the minute I get home. There is also no way I could host 20 people for Ashley’s birthday without my family’s help. With all my helpers, the gratitude and love I have for them, I am still in need of serenity when it takes me a lot longer to find a dish or a measuring cup because it was my husband who did the dishes 🙂 or when my sister who I was really counting on for last minute help finds out that her dental appointment is scheduled for one hour before the dinner for my 20 guests. When she tried to reschedule, despite my efforts to tell her not to, it turns out it would be 2 months of waiting for another appointment.

With all that and always more, I do know my peace comes from above and I do want to hold on to it very tight so I can keep smiling and still be able to bring as much love as I can to those around me no matter if I just came from a trip, running a fever, or hosting a party! Believe it or not, I have lost it before and not once, but that’s when it comes to making choices. Do I continue to struggle trough every family celebration, every come back home, or any other event that puts me out of routine?! My strong desire to learn quick and preference to learn from mistakes made by others didn’t always help during stressful times. So, when this adult life was getting busy and I really wanted to learn how to keep my soul calm and still keep doing things that are so dear to me, I had to come to my resources.

Lucky for me, a few years back I have found and memorized this treasure from Philippians 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with prayer and petition present your request to God. And the piece of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Most of the time we can control the busy part of our lives. I had to learn, sadly the hard way ;), that a lot of times I needed to give up some responsibilities in order to take on new, look for ways to be more efficient, reach out for help from others, but we sure can’t control circumstances that come unplanned and are out of our reach. Well, this powerful weapon came very supportive in the busy and stressful times of my life again and again. It wouldn’t be all if I don’t say anything about the necessity of my time spent with God.

Awhile ago during one of our meetings at work, we had a discussion about the “stop and smell the roses” topic. Each of us had a chance to share about what it is that we MUST do each day to keep us going, and still enjoy and appreciate the beauty of life. By the time I was clear what this idiomatic quote means, I am sure my shyness and lack of public speaking skills played a part there as well, I passed the opportunity and said nothing. The discussion did make me think though. It didn’t take me too long to answer myself that it is indeed the time I spend with my Almighty Creator in prayer and the reading of His powerful and living word. Yes, I love music and worship encourages me and fills me with gratitude all the time. It is a must for me to spend enough time with my husband, daughter, and close family so I feel whole again. I have to have enough rest and go to church at least once a week; but if I don’t spend my time with God, I am not much of a delight to my husband or daughter, or anyone else that happens to be around. Of course, if I totally get distracted by the business of life and uncontrollable situations, God always has his perfect ways to remind me that yes, He hasn’t seen me for awhile. Realizing how essential it is in my life, I do my very best to schedule and keep the appointments with Him.

So, now that I have this great way of documenting and sharing our trips and journeys, I had to keep my cool and know that it won’t always be crazy busy and I will get to it. Waiting to do something you really enjoy isn’t easy but well, there is time for everything. Three weeks isn’t that bad after all. By the way, all of our pictures are now transferred to the computer and I have made some drafts already and do plan to share about our Madrid days in my next post.