Finding Peace
Posted by Danielle Bean in Reviews on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 11:34 AM
In recent days, I’ve been reading Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry
So much of what Kenison, a mother of two boys, shares resonates with me. She has a true mother’s heart and she writes of the kinds of joys, struggles, and longings that are in every mother’s heart.
The chapter titles alone form a revealing list of the many things a mother worries about and strives for in raising her children: Peace, Quiet, Simplicity, Play, Healing, Listening, Rhythm, Truth, Discipline, Nurturing ...
The chapter on Peace has been especially good reading for me lately.
Even for those of us who strive for peace in our homes, it can be hard to find moments of quiet in our days. In the past, I have tried to institute “quiet time” or “down time” during certain hours of the day, but inevitably I have wound up frustrated and discouraged when the baby won’t nap, the older kids bicker, my husband arrives home and instigates a wrestling contest, or a telephone call thwarts my plans.
Lisa has written before about making an effort to “find quiet.” For those of us who have trouble doing this, what if instead of struggling to insert quiet into our days, we made a greater effort to take advantage of the quiet that is already there?
I’ve had appointments canceled by weather or illness and found myself unexpectedly enjoying a few free hours with my children in the afternoon. These can be precious times, if we resist the urge to fill them with activity.
Bedtimes, too, can be a pleasant time if, instead of rushing through routines and “have-to’s” we focus on simply being together.
Kenison writes:
In a society that endorses activity, I think we would all do well to put more trust in stillness. No matter how busy we are, we can always find meaning and renewal in those moments that are avalaible to us. We can come together in an intimate way, even at the end of a long draining day, if we are willing to be fully present to our children.
and
When I come to a stop myself, when I draw a circle of stillness around me, my children are drawn into that peaceful place. They visibly relax, as if my very calmness nourishes them. The impact of just a few minutes of quiet attention can be profound, changing the mood of an entire day, restoring equilibrium to a distressed child, and to a frazzled mother as well.
I read these words and sigh. Some evenings, they sound like an unattainable ideal. My kids would rather fight over who gets first dibs on the Batman toothpaste and resist baths or pajamas than sit with me and revel in the peacefulness of the moment.
But how much of that is my fault? How often do I catch myself rush-rush-rushing through bedtime routines, like we’re racing toward a goal?
Kenison’s words are a helpful reminder of the power we mothers have to set the tone in our homes. Today and tonight, what will it be? I pray that God will help me to make it one of peace and stillness.
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