Thankful For Emptiness

Among the myriad blessings in my life, one I'm very grateful for today is this empty corner in my house:

Most likely, all of you who read my blog keep your houses neat-as-a-pin, and its doubtful you'll be able to relate to what I'm writing about in this post. But.....sigh......I'll write it anyway.
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If you knew me as well as I know me.....which no one does, of course.......you would be cheering because my accomplishment of cleaning up a corner of the house means that my mood must be much better than normal for this time of the year. There have been other years when I felt simply paralyzed as the month of November wore on, with its diminishing hours of light each day, and the upcoming prospect of the holidays, when I'm supposed to be giddily cheerful and happy about everything. What a drag on my family I was at those times. Moms are supposed to be enthusiastic about Christmas decorating and shopping and baking, don't cha know. (Want to imitate a northern Iowa/Minnesota accent? Emphasize an "oh" sound in that phrase, "d-oh-n cha kn-oh-w". My daughter---who is a teacher/coach near Des Moines---gets teased about her "Minnie-soh-ta" accent all the time. And, in my opinion, her husband---who grew up in Des Moines---has a slightly southern accent---like Missouri people do. Funny how that all works. Sorry for the digression.)

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Do you ever find it a struggle to be what you are "supposed" to be?

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However, do you want to know what the salvation of my mood has been?.......On a practical, everyday level?........That's right, its BLOGGING. Oh, I could say, "God has freed me from my depression", and certainly, God, being all-knowing, all-powerful, and all that, deserves the credit for anything good that happens in our lives. But, I'm not comfortable talking about God very much. Oh, He's a given in my life, but I feel it can be a turn-off when people are always talking about Him. Talk is cheap---unless you're a professional speaker of some sort, of course. Actions are what counts. (That's not to say that my actions are always---or ever--- what they should be.) Of course, it could be that blogging is cheap, too......but, oh, what a depressing thought!
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Also, please don't come to the erroneous conclusion that the rest of my house looks like this corner---free of clutter---because it definitely does not! But, at least there is this corner of peace and emptiness to which I can flee when the rest of the house and all the holiday responsibilities seem overwhelming. I'm determined to keep this corner cleared out.......oh, we will put the Christmas tree here......but, after that, I want to keep the area free of STUFF. Then when little ones are here they can play in this corner, or we can put up a card table here for games or for extra seating at mealtimes. Or I can just stand there within the emptiness and gaze blissfully out at the trees in the yard, reveling in this small space which is FREE OF CLUTTER!
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Here's one of my favorite autumn decorations---a wreath of colored leaves made out of old barn wood. At least, I assume it is made from old boards from a farm building. I bought this unique wreath a few years ago at a local craft consignment shop. Its hanging next to the double doors in the photo above. (The porch beyond looks so white because its floor was covered with snow when I took the picture the other day.) I enjoy fall decorations and am sad when its time to take them down. Maybe I should just leave this wreath up! Hey......that's an idea......maybe I'll do that!

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Here's hoping there's a peaceful, uncluttered spot somewhere in your house.......or in your mind......where you can retreat, even just for brief moments, whenever the need arises during the holiday season! If you don't have an empty spot.......then MAKE ONE!! Push some stuff aside and make room for a little peace and emptiness in your house and life. Take back something that belongs to you in the first place!
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Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!
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