My Soul Needs Some Fun!

My husband and I are currently in a lot of transition. Often with transition, fear or worries can rise up with the unknown. Sure we have some of those, but for us, it has been a time of deep reflection and a space to dream. Even though we may not know the next chapter of our story, as we enter into the fall season I find myself dreaming of more of the immediate. What we can do now rather than things we cannot totally control for the future. I found my soul just needs some plain old fun.

Anyone else just need some fun?!

Fun doesn’t always seem super spiritual. But I think it is a necessary ingredient in life and our spiritual walk! God isn’t boring by any means. We are on a life time adventure with God and it’s pretty wild! I know I get pretty caught up in the adult realm of work work work and little play or spaces to stop to reflect. I know we have all been there or may be are there. It’s easy to do and some of us have jobs that do not just allow us to check out after the work day is over. But when we do that, we loose some of the realities of what our soul longs to do — and needs to do.

I think of when Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Whenever I get into an overhaul of work mode, I start fo feel burdened and weary. Unfortunately, I am also learning as a young mother, that it also affects my children and husband too. When I am stressed out or weary, they know it and can cause unwarranted anxieties on their life. Kids pick up an uncanny amount of things. I am learning to be more sensitive to them and their little hearts as well. So most of this comes down to a check in my own heart and life.

Because we were in some ways forced to do this with the transition coming up in our lives, we also knew it was about time to do it anyways. We needed to reevaluate, slow down and figure out some ways together we can find rest for our souls. So my husband and I started to sit down and plan out a few months of things that would fill our hearts, help us heal and do some much needed things that our soul longed to do but we have been putting off because of work or the busyness of life.

Some of these fun things we are planing involve a lot of easy family trips. We love to travel and that always fills our families love tanks up to go on an adventure together. We get to get away, explore, unplug and also usually visit friends we love and don’t get to see that often.  These trips are not very expensive and we can just hop in our cars to drive there. Some of this looks like a friend who is letting us use their family cabin in the mountains where we will go explore for a few days this fall. To smell the woodsy crisp air and watch the leaves turn. To take small hikes with our boys and explore a cute little mountain town. We are traveling down to Oregon to visit the coast and stay with some friends in Eugene too. The ocean always brings us joy and the coast is a place where we often can slow down and just breathe. Miles of sand to play in and explore and cozy nights by an open fire to have intentional conversation and reflection.

Smaller things included reading a new book each week that is for fun or interest to us, not just for sermon planning. Making sure to have set time of prayer together and individually. We are also setting a side a small budget to go shopping and get some new clothes. This may seem trivial, but we barely clothes shop. So for us, it’s a big deal and gives us something fresh and fun to look forward to. We’ve been working on a lot of self care with better nutrition and going to the gym more often in the week. Taking time to read new books each day to our kids and more child led play trips to the play ground or beach. Letting our kids navigate more of what they may want to explore and not having such tight schedules or expectations. To get messy more with my small humans – letting them help me more in the kitchen or do messier activities that I usually avoid like play doh or glue. Letting them have an extra 10 minutes outside even if it means I’ll be behind in whatever task at present or jumping in that gross sand box with them. Letting them get dirty even if it means giving them 10 baths that day.

Some of this may be small, and some more complex, however they have powerful affects when we start listening in to what our soul needs. Self care is important. Family time is necessary. Communion with the Lord is sustaining. Fun makes life vibrant and hopeful. Just writing all of this out, gets me revved and my soul rejoices to be able to have this time now and soon to come.

I have hope in this next season of transition. Admits all the unknown there is going to be some incredible victories and places to truly rest. We are ready to play, are you?