Utterly remarkable things.

I read this book (Notes From A Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider) a few years ago, and this quote has still stuck with me and I still sometimes think about it:

No, the beautiful thing about living a slower, richer life is that you can impact others in the most surprising ways. You may have more wiggle room in your bank account to support a nonprofit doing amazing things, or when you hear of a friend in need, you an quietly slip some folded cash under her door. But a slower life could also mean picking up a figurative (or literal) plow and tilling the fields where your help is desperately needed, taking time out each year to serve in a part of the world that could change both your family and a slice of humanity for the better. It may mean supporting local farmers whose businesses would otherwise fold. It could mean choosing not to turn a naive eye away from the starving and the bought-and-sold around the world because you're spending your time reading a book that reveals what's really going on inside your door, instead of who's being cut from the latest reality show. Or it could even mean simply cultivating a home life so that one of your children grows up to do something utterly remarkable because she is keenly aware of how blessed she really is. 

I include the whole paragraph so you can get a little taste of what came before, but the last sentence is so striking to me now as a stay-at-home-mom. I am very content in this season of life- I love staying home and would never want to trade it for anything- but as in all seasons, there are far too many times where Satan tries to speak lies. Lies like maybe I'm not doing enough, helping enough, impacting enough, etc.

But that is not true. I may not be changing many lives right now like some are, but that is perfectly okay because this is where I am called for right now. Changing the life of my child (and future children) is a most honorable calling and gift. Young children are demanding, yet people need in their life a few who truly and deeply invested in them in order to thrive and have healthy attachments.

When I think about how much my parents have impacted my life, I am so grateful and I hope that Kley and I can do that for Norah. To think that I have the opportunity to teach her about Jesus and that she could grow up to do something utterly remarkable because she realizes how blessed she is by Him makes me cry and get goosebumps.

Norah, you will do utterly remarkable things. I know it, because you already have to me.