white space on a busy day
Today was a Blueberry Day.
That’s what I call the days I get to spend with my grandson Crosby. He’s six months old now and changing every day.
But there was a day when his eyes were just the color of a fresh picked blueberry his mama was eating at the time.
When Monica sent this photo, I remember feeling warmed as if crossed by the slant of a late day sunbeam through my window, the kind where you can see what's floating invisible in the light. I knew she was busy all day with a newborn. Still, she was noticing God's fingerprint along the way. She stopped and caught the moment she realized the exact color of his eyes matched what she held between her fingers. A blueberry is no single color, but bursts with blues, grays, purples, plums and even creamy raspberries.
To me, this is white space on a busy day. You might be moving, but still enough inside to pause in wonder and delight.
We all have work to do and people to take care of, so we cannot think of white space as only wide open space all our own. No, there will be days we will only find glimpses. White space is anything that revives your heart and refreshes your soul even in the fray, especially in the fray. It can be finding blessings in little moments while you work.
What does white space look like for me on a Blueberry Day? I guess it is noticing details and being grateful as I go.
the sweet smile he gives me when I arrive
baby calisthenics (he’s like a hummingbird, 70 beats per second)
a morning walk with Crosby nestled in the stroller
a hummingbird hovering so close above the stroller that I had to stop in my tracks
baby coos & gurgles
those blueberry eyes looking up from his bottle
a cup of coffee or tea in the late afternoon
my hands warm around a glazed green pottery mug etched with pink rabbit
typing this in the quiet while he naps in his woodland nursery
reading Eric Carle board books to Crosby (these books have lots of white space!)
swinging in the red porch swing watching the sunlight play with the shadows
pouring water over his round belly while he splashes in the tub
his wet eyelashes
that sweet cream baby smell fresh from the bath
air drying his bottom while we watch out the french door two hawks soar and survey the river
playing cricket sounds on his fox music box at bedtime
I'll admit, I am tired when I head home at the end of Blueberry Days, but happy tired, filled up tired even though I poured out.
You can bring stillness into the commotion of life. That is, if you have gathered it up somewhere and brought it with you.
Be kind and gracious with yourself on busy days. Take small nibbles of white space and be grateful for what crosses your path. And then, remember to carve out a day or part of a day that is not so busy. A day to create, to listen, to sit still, to be silent and unhurried, to notice God's hand and be filled with thanksgiving.
The little ways count as much as the bigger ones.
I just found this in my new favorite devotional, Glimpses of Grace, by Madeleine L'Engle.
Her grandmother was fond of reciting it to her.
Little drops of water
Little grains of sand
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
I'd like to know, how do you find white space for your soul on your busy days? Use the hashtag #findingwhitespace
All photos by Monica Conlin.