"revel in the sacrament of the present moment"

These photos are from our time up at Camp Bethel (an ashram/farm/commune of sorts that is basically on a mission to rescue... as Jesus rescues... the poor, the orphan, the widow... they even rescue animals :o) ) in the Appalachians near Waynesville, North Carolina this past January. We got "snowed in" up there (during the epic Southern snowstorm that crippled Atlanta) with some of the most precious, wonderful people, with whom we felt an instant connection. Our time there caused us to really slow down and "be in the moment", to dream again, and we long to be back with them again when we can afford the gas. I thought I'd share these photos with you of our time there. Enjoy them.

Last night, I was bathing Noah. Jason wasn't home, so I was on solo dinner/bath/bedtime duty again (and have been for several nights this past week). Most nights, including last night, I find myself rushing to get the process over with and can't wait for bedtime to hit, so I can put the kids to bed and have some quiet, adult, "me" time. It's not that I truly take the time for myself, it's just that I look forward to not having some child needing me in some way, or to breaking up a squabble... I usually just straighten the house, grab a glass of wine and do my internet stuff.

I realized, while I was sitting tub-side, for just a moment... it hit me. This moment, right here, is going to be gone. This beautiful, soft, round and full belly is only going to be here for a few years, before it turns into a boy belly... and then the boy turns into... well, you get the picture. This little tubby time with this squishy, sweet, tender babe is just a moment, but I will long for it forever once it's gone. Isn't that always the case? The most painful thing in life is usually regret for time we wish we could take back... times we wish we had been more still and able to recognize how sacred and fleeting time is...

I went on a walk by myself... there is nothing like the quiet of snow...

I just love Noah's belly... every time I am changing his clothes I just love how sweet and soft it is... God, he is just so cute and funny... it breaks my heart to know he is going to grow up. Babies change so much, so fast... they require so much work, and we end up so tired, we just can't wait for time "alone"... but when we're older, how we will long for the chance to go back and "do it differently".

rescued horses

Jesus said over and over that we shouldn't worry about anything... (read Matthew 6) don't worry about when or what you're going to eat, what you're going to wear, about the future, what to say or how to say it. Honestly, I have chosen not to worry about things only because it makes me crazy, not necessarily because Jesus told me I shouldn't (for my own sake). We have chosen to live life day to day instead of worrying about the future, and now we see that this lines up with HIS HEART for us, that we would just take life one day at a time. HIS HEART is for peace in our  hearts, not anxiety or preoccupation with our own ability to meet our own needs, but to further surrender to him and ALLOW HIM to do it all... total dependence.

rescued sheep (I think :o) )

Moreover, what I find in what Jesus is trying to tell us is that when we surrender our fear and worry and let Him just do it all, we are more able to "revel in the sacrament of the present moment".

Jean-Pierre de Caussade was a French Jesuit priest born in the late 1600s known for, among other works, Abandonment to Divine Providence also translated, The Sacrament of the Present Moment. He is remembered for "his belief that the present moment is a sacrament from God and that self-abandonment to it and its needs is a holy state".

A sacrament is defined as "something regarded as possessing a sacred or mysterious significance"... Holy crap! What if we all lived like every moment was sacred and mysterious, and did everything within ourselves to observe it as such? What would that be like? What would our lives be like? When we look back on our journey, what would we say, if we were able to live this way?

All of this thinking caused me to look a few things up on the internet.


One, I wanted to read a few quotes from de Caussade's book. And two, I wanted to find out if there was any compilation of responses from elders to the question, "if you could do it all over again, what would you change?"...

de Caussade says...

“The life of faith, and the instinct of faith are one and the same. It is an enjoyment of the goods of God, and a confidence founded on the expectation of His protection, making everything pleasant and received with a good grace. It is indifference to, and at the same time a preparation for every place, state, or person. Faith is never unhappy even when the senses are most desolate. This lively faith is always in God, always in His action above contrary appearances by which the senses are darkened. The senses, in terror, suddenly cry to the soul, “Unhappy one! You have now no resource, you are lost,” and instantly faith with a stronger voice answers: “Keep firm, go on, and fear nothing.”

Scout! :o) oh, sweet Scout. also a rescue.

another poignant quote with which I can identify... “God instructs the heart, not by ideas but by pains and contradictions.” 

In searching for advice from our elders, I stumbled upon Elder Wisdom Circle. 


Someone posed the open ended question about what advice they would give if they could say anything. Just as I suspected, a good portion of the response involved slowing down and investing in what matters (relationships and people):


"Stop along the way and smell the roses. That is a trite line, but I assure you when you are my age and looking back, you just cannot believe how fast it will seem like it has gone by. It would be a very regrettable thing to be looking back and saying, "I wish I had... I wish I did." "

"Don't worry too much about things that don't really matter and worry enough about the things that do.

And, share yourself and your love with others. You never know how this expression of humanity will affect someone..."

And finally... my main Man. :o)


Matthew 6: 25-34


    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Much love, 

Brooke